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ANNALS 



OF 



LUZERNE COUNTY; 



A RECORD OF 



INTERESTING EVENTS, TRADITIONS, 
AND ANECDOTES. 



FROM THE 

FIRST SETTLEMENT IN WYOMING VALLEY TO 1866. 

BY 

STETART PEAROE. 



Illustrated by a Map and Engravings. 



SECOND EDITION. 

WITH NOTES, CORRECTIONS, AND VALUABLE ADDITIONS. 

PHILADELPHIA: 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 

1866. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern District 
of Pennsylyania. 



-0^ 



TO 



%^t Wgoming liist0rital anb ^eoIogM S0ti% 



THIS WORK 



RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 



THE AUTHOR. 



? 



PREFACE. 



They, who have read the Histories of Wyoming, by 
Isaac A. Chapman, Esq., Colonel Stone, Charles Miner, 
Esq., and the Rev. George Peck, D. D., together with the 
History of Lackawanna Valley, by H. Hollister, M. D.. 
may conclude, the Annals of Luzerne County is a super- 
fluous work. It should be remembered, however, that 
the valuable works of Messrs. Chapman, Stone, and 
Miner have been out of print for upwards of fifteen 
years, and are now to be found chiefly only in public 
libraries, and in those of private citizens of wealth ; that 
Dr. Peck's work treats principally of incidents of the 
Revolutionary, and Pennamite and Yankee, wars, culled, 
in part, from the recollections of men and women who 
received the narratives from the lips of their forefathers ; 
that Dr. Hollister's history embraces only the settlement 
and improvement of the Lackawanna Valley and a few 
adjoining townships, and that Wyoming and Lacka- 
wanna valleys are but a portion of the great county 
i (1) 



11 PREFACE. 

of Luzerne. With this view of the subject I commenced 
my Annals, not claiming the dignity of History, but 
being a brief and impartial record of events, in the order, 
as near as possible, in which they occurred, beginning 
with the days when the Indians occupied these lands, 
and closing with the year 1859. If I have succeeded 
in placing in the hands of the reader an instructive and 
reliable work, a book containing useful data and sta- 
tistics, or if I have added any good thing to the store- 
house of knowledge, I am content. 

It has been my object to treat each subject under its 
appropriate head, avoiding, as far as possible, frequent 
repetition, and to connect with local affairs as much 
information of a general character as is necessary to a 
correct comprehension of the whole subject. An account 
of the origin of steamboats, locomotives, railroads, plank- 
roads, printing, banks and paper money, and religious 
denominations, with descriptions of the great lakes and 
mountains of North America, together with various other 
facts connected with general history, may be found in 
this work. Consequently, it is not exclusively of a local 
character. 

In addition to the works already enumerated, I ac- 
knowledge my indebtedness for much valuable informa- 
tion to the Pennsylvania Colonial Records and Archives, 
Day's Historical Collections of Pennsylvania, Drake's 



PREFACE. iii 



History of the North American Indians, Rev. John 
Heckewelder's Narrative, Watson's Annals of Philadel- 
phia, Campbell's Annals of Tryon County, Taylor's 
Statistics of Coal, and to newspaper files furnished me 
by Hon. C. Miner, Hon. C. T. Barnum, Steuben Butler, 
S. D. Lewis, and W. P. Miner, Esqs. ; also, to printed 
speeches and addresses delivered by the Hon. B. A. Bid- 
lack, Hon. Andrew Beaumont, Hon. John N. Conyng- 
ham, and Y. L. Maxwell, Esq. 

I also own my obligations to the county officers and 
their clerks, to numerous gentlemen throughout the 
county, and, particularly, to Mr. R. Sharp of Eckley, 
Mr. D. Yarington of Carbondale, Colonel W. Lee of 
Nanticoke, and Mr. Lord Butler and Major A. H. 
Bowman of Wilkesbarre ; Chester A. Colt, Esq., of 
Washington City, and Charles Conner, Esq., of Harris- 
burg. 

I am happy, also, to tender my acknowledgments to 
Captain E. L. Dana, for pencil sketches of Indian stone 
instruments, of Forty Fort, of the Fell House, of Stew- 
art's Blockhouse, of Sutton's Mill, of Durham boat, and 
of the Wyoming Yalley ; to Mr. W. H. Sturdevant for a 
pencil sketch of the Slocum House ; to Miss E. J. Alex- 
ander for one of the first Academy ; to Rev. R. Nelson 
for the use of the plate of the Wyoming Seminary ; to 
L. Hancock for an ambrotype view of the Scranton 



IV PREFACE. 



Graded School building; to Mr. W. H. Ward, of Wilkes- 
barre, for photographs of the jail, and the new court- 
house ; to Mr. H. P. Messenger, of Pittston, for photo- 
graph of Gouldsborough Tannery; and to William P. 
Miner, Esq., of Wilkesbarre, for plate of the old church 
in the public square. 

To William Henry Beaumont, Esq., of Wilkesbarre, I 
am indebted for an account of the expedition of the 
Wyoming Artillerists to the city of Mexico, during the 
war. 

Stewart Pearce. 

Wilkesbarre, 1860. 



Note. — The figures 1, 2, 3, &c., in the text of body of the -work, refer 
to " Notes " in the Appendix following page 562. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE INDIANS. 



Man's origin — Confusion of color and tongues — Migrations — Discovery of 
America — Indian traditions — Ancient fortifications — Indian relics — Iro- 
quois, or Five Nations — Shawanese — Delawares — Treaty with Williana 
Penn — Walking purchase — Council at Philadelphia — Canassatego's speech 
— Shikellimus — Mohicans — Nanticokes — Indian villages and paths — Mo- 
ravian missionaries — Rev. George Whitfield — Count Zinzendorf — Conrad 
Weiser — Gnadenhutten — French War — Sir William Johnson — Shingas — 
Logan — Neglect of the Provincial Assembly to protect the frontiers — Dis- 
pute betvreen the Governor and Assembly — Teedyuscung — Indian council 
at Wyoming — Destruction of white settlements on the Delaware — Madame 
Montour — Paxinos — Capture of Peter Hess and others — Logan's celebrated 
speech not true — Forts Augusta and Allen built — Rewards ofi"ered for 
Indian scalps by Governor Morris and council — Day of fasting and prayer — 
Councils at Easton — Speeches of Teedyuscung — His reasons for declaring 
war — Council at Lancaster — Third council at Easton — Teedyuscung de- 
mands a secretary — Charles Thompson — Peace with the Susquehanna 
Indians — Houses erected at Wyoming for Teedyuscung — Grasshopper war 
— Christian Frederick Post — His mission to the western Indians — Meets 
King Beaver — Fourth council at Easton — Peace with the western Indians 
— The French surrender Canada to the English — Second Indian war — 
Death of Teedyuscung — Rewards offered for Indian scalps by Governor 
John Penn — Peace — Christian Indians at Wyalusing — First bell on the 
Susquehanna — Departure of the Indians Page 13 

CHAPTER 11. 

THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 

Charters of Connecticut and Pennsylvania — Purchase of Indian title — Sus- 
quehanna Land Company — First settlement at Wyoming — Massacre of 
settlers — Trenton decree — The Forty, or first settlers of Kingston — Forty 
Fort — Captain Ogden — First arrest of Yankees — Second arrest — Fort Dur- 
lee built — Its surrender — Flight and suffering of the Yankees — Captain 

(5) 



VI CONTENTS. 



Lazarus Stewart and Colonel Durkee — First blood shed — Fort Ogden sur- 
rendered by the Pennaraites and burnt by the Yankees — Return of Ogden — 
Renewed conflict — Capture of Captain Zebulon Butler and others — Fort 
Wyoming built — Death of Nathan Ogden — Butler and Stewart besiege 
Ogden — Ogden's tact and escape — Returns with reinforcements — Surrender 
of the Pennamites — Proposals by Connecticut to negotiate rejected by 
Pennsylvania — Town of Westmoreland formed and organized — Charleston 
and Judea destroyed by Colonel Plunket — Plunket marches against Wyo- 
ming — Is defeated by the Yankees at Nanticoke — Pennamites and Yankees 
united during the Revolutionary War — Civil strife resumed by Pennsylva- 
nia — Petition of Yankee settlers to the Pennsylvania Assembly — Compro- 
mise commissioners appointed — John Jenkins and others appointed a com- 
mittee to meet the commissioners — Alexander Patterson — His infamous 
acts — Flight of five hundred Yankees, and their sufferings in the wilderness 
— Their return — Fort Defence — Battle on Ross Hill — Captain John Frank- 
lin dispossesses the Pennamites — Wilkesbarre burnt — Battle at Locust Hill 
— Colonel John Armstrong — His treachery — Arrest of Yankees — Their 
escape from the Easton jail — The Pennamites besieged — Captains Swift 
and Franklin wounded — Council of Censors — Battle of the Diamond — 
Franklin's oath — Susquehanna Company reaffirms its rights — New state 
proposed — Timothy Pickering — Yankees divided — Confirming Law — Mass 
meeting at Forty Fort — Club fight — General Ethan Allen — Arrest of 
Franklin — Meeting of Pennsylvania claimants — Land-jobbing priests — 
Repeal of the Confirming Law — Capture of Pickering — Compromise Law — 
Certified townships — Final settlement of the question 58 



CHAPTEK III. 

CAPTAIN LAZARUS STEWART. 

Birth and education — Joins General Braddock — Returns to Paxton — Hia 
intended bride murdered by savages — The funeral — Stewart's oath — 
Marches to Wyoming with his rangers — Burial of the massacred settlers — 
Conestoga Indians — Reward offered for Stewart's arrest — His declaration — 
Joins the Yankees- — Captures Fort Durkee^ — Joined by Colonel John Dur- 
kee — Capture of Fort Ogden — Reward offered for the arrest of Stewart and 
Captain Zebulon Butler — Arrest of Stewart — His escape — Second capture 
of Fort Durkee — Plunket's invasion and repulse — Stewart commands the 
Hanover Company — Council of war at Forty Fort — Is in favor of meeting 
the enemy in the open field — His death 100 

CHAPTEK TV. 

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 
Patriotic . resolution — Tories — Fort Wintermoot — Independent companies 



CONTENTS. vii 



Captain Weisner's company — Captain Strong's company — Companies join 
Washington — Battle of Millstone — First prisoners from Wyoming — Scalps 
taken — Widows and wives of soldiers supplied with provisions by the town- -^ 
Captain Hewitt's company — First American killed by the enemy — Indiar 
spies — Return of Colonel Zebulon Butler and Captains Ransom and Durke*- 
— Approach of the enemy — The Hardings — Colonel John Butler — Fort 
Wintermoot surrendered — Fort Jenkins — Pittston Stockade — Forty Fort — 
Numbers of the Americans — Council of war — Reasons for engaging the 
enemy — Battle of Wyoming — Death of Colonel Dorrance — Massacre — 
Elijah Shoemaker — The fratricide — The Bloody Rock — Burnt alive — 
Samuel Carey — Flight of the inhabitants — Captain Spaulding meets the 
fugitives — Colonel Nathan Denison — Surrender of Forty Fort — Wilkesbarre 
burnt — Queen Esther and her scalps — Departure of the enemy from Wyo- 
ming — Report of Colonel John Butler — Colonel Thomas Hartley — 'Forts 
Jenkins, Muncy, and Freedley erected — Return of Colonel Zebulon Butler 
and Captain Spaulding to Wyoming — Fort Wilkesbarre built — Address of 
Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania — Unkind sentiments of the 
council — Williams and Abbott shot — Capture of Tripp, Hocksey, Swetland, 
and Blanchard — Colonel Hartley's expedition — William Jameson killed — 
Burial of the dead — Capture of Frances Slocum — Numerous murders by 
the Indians — Capture of Bidlack — Fort Wilkesbarre attacked — Death of 
Williams, Pettebone, and others — Washington sends Generals Sullivan and 
Clinton against the Indians — Death of Captain Davis — Sullivan's army at 
Wyoming — Marches into the Indian territory — Battle near Elmira — The 
country of the Six Nations laid waste — Death of Lieutenant Thomas Boyd — 
Bennett and Hammond — Rogers, Pike, and Van Campen — Skirmish in 
Sugarloaf Valley — Capture of Harvey and Ransom — Capture of the Frank- 
lin family — Death of John Jameson and Asa Chapman — Revolutionary pen- 
sioners — The Monument — List of killed in the battle of July 3d, 1778 120 



CHAPTER V. 

LUZERNE COUNTY. 

Original counties in Pennsylvania — Northampton formed — Northumberland 
— Luzerne — Chevalier De la Luzerne — Divisions of Luzerne Connty — Its 
valleys — Wyoming — Lackawanna — Huntington and Sugarloaf — Mountains 
— Highest in the United States — Mountains in Luzerne — Their height — 
Dial Rock — Pulpit Rock — Honey Pot — Prospect Rock — Prospect House — 
Rivers and creeks — The Duke of Orleans on the Susquehanna — Bridges — 
Gaseous vapor from the Lackawanna^Lakes and ponds — Great lakes of 
North America — Harvey's Lake the largest in Pennsylvania — Lake House — 
Population of Luzerne county — Whites — Colored — Deaths — Marriages — 
Deaf — Dumb — Blind — Foreigners — Slaves — Comparative increase of popu- 
lation in agricultural and mining districts 156 



viii CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VI. 

BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 

Certified townships — Townships of 1790 — List of townships and boroughs — 
Description of each in alphabetical order, embracing an account of first 
settlements — Saw-mills — Churches — Grist-mills — Population, &c. . 182 

CHAPTER VII. 

THE JUDICIARY. 

No law in Wyoming — Code established by Susquehanna Land Company — 
Westmoreland county formed — First court, judges, and lawyers under 
Connecticut — No lawyers in 1781 — Price of grain regulated by the court — 
Divorcements — Blue Laws — First Luzerne County Court — Judges — Law- 
yers — First grand jurors — Justices of the peace — Dueling — Log court- 
house — Hog in the garret — Second court-house — Supreme Judges — Court 
ceremonies — Balls — The contrast — President Judges — Imprisonment for 
whispering in court — Sherifis — Additional lawyers — Jail and fire-proof 
buildings — Third court-house — Laying of corner-stone — Execution of crimi- 
nals — Deeds — Mortgages — Judgments — Courts in Carbondale — County ex- 
penditures — Value of taxable property — Criminals sentenced to the peni- 
tentiary 234 

CHAPTER VIII. 

EDUCATION. 

Land appropriated by Susquehanna Company — Indian school — Free school — 
Schoolmasters — School lands sold — Pennsylvania free school system — Ac- 
cepted in Luzerne county — Adults who cannot read and write — Number 
of schools and pupils in the several townships — Wilkesbarre Academy — 
Teachers and students — Kingston Academy — Plymouth Academy — Madi- 
son Academy — Wyoming Conference Seminary — Wyoming Institute — 
Wilkesbarre Female Institute — Graded schools . . 262 

CHAPTER IX. 

RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

First minister in Wyoming — Presbyterian Church — Rev. David Brain erd 

Support of ministers by the Susquehanna Company — First church in Han- 
over—First in Wilkesbarre— Lottery— The old sexton— The 9 o'clock bell 

Religious war — New School Presbyterians— Methodist Episcopal Church 

Rev. Anning Owen — Class and quarterly meetings — Bishop Asbury visits 
Wyoming— Forty Fort Church— First camp meeting— French infidelity- 
Baptist Church— Early ministers— Abington Baptist Association— Wyo- 



CONTENTS. ix 



ming Association — Lutheran and German Reformed Churches — First min- 
isters — Protestant Episcopal Church — Early ministers — Roman Catholic 
Church — Minor churches — Jews — Colored churches — The Mormons — Re- 
capitulation 275 

CHAPTER X. 

THE MILITARY. 

Whiskey Insurrection — Luzerne volunteers — John Adams's war — Second 
company of Luzerne volunteers — War of 1812 — Wyoming Blues — Letter of 
Captain Slocum and others — Reply of Mr. Jefferson — Wyoming Matross — 
Cannonading — Battle of Lake Erie — Silver medal — James Bird — Ballad — 
Matross at Maiden and Detroit — Battle of the Thames — The Bloody 16th — 
Recruiting stations — Militia march for Baltimore — Soldier beaten to death — 
Return of volunteers — Rejoicing — Mexican War — Wyoming Artillerists — 
Lobos Island — Siege of Vera Cruz — First fire of the Mexicans — Battle of 
Cerro Gordo — Castle of Perote — Burial of the dead — The Black Pass — Siege 
of Puebla — City of Mexico — Columbia Guards — Lieut. Le Clerc — Return 
of the volunteers — Reception at home — County volunteer organization 316 

CHAPTER XL 

AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES. 

Agriculture the true source of prosperity — Recommended by eminent men — 
False system of education — Our grandfathers and grandmothers — Rivalry 
among farmers and spinsters — Agricultural societies — First in Luzerne — 
Markets — Transportation of grain — Conestoga wagon — Price of grain — 
Spirit of speculation — Decline of agriculture — Second agricultural society — 
Abington Society — Fourth society — County fair — Specimens of vegetables 
and fruits — Statistical table — Manufactures — Spinning-wheels — Looms — 
Carding and fulling mills — AVool-growing — Paper-mill — Forges — Nail fac- 
tory — Furnaces and rolling-mills — Foundries and steam-engines — Powder- 
mills — Tanneries — Lehigh lumber trade — Men and capital employed in 
manufactures in Luzerne county 337 

CHAPTER XII. 

MINERALS AND THE COAL TRADE. 

Coal first used in England — Indian mines in Wyoming — Anthracite first used 
in smithshops — Silver, lead, and copper mines — Discovery of coal at Mauch 
Chunk — Progress and difiiculties of the trade — Judge Fell — His experiment 
— Efforts of Messrs. Miner, Cist, Smith and others to introduce anthracite 
into use — Public incredulity — Discovery of coal at Hazelton — ^Eastern Middle 
coal-field — Bituminous coal — Wyoming coal-field — Its development — The 
miner — Baltimore Coal Company — Individual operators — Pennsylvania 



X CONTENTS. 

Coal Company — Dundee shaft — Lackawanna coal-field — Maurice and Wil- 
liam Wurts— Delaware and Hudson Canal and Coal Company — Progress 
of improvements and trade — Area of coal-fields — Quantity and value of 
anthracite — Increase of consumption — Fossil remains — Iron ore — Lime- 
stone— ^Cost of manufacturing iron 364 

CHAPTER XIII. 

NEWSPAPERS, BOOKS, POETRY, LITERARY AND BENEFICIAL SOCIETIES. 

Discovery of the art of printing — First newspapers — Town sign-post — News- 
papers in Wilkesbarre, Kingston, Carbondale, Providence, Pittston, Scran- 
ton, Plymouth, and Conyngham — Value of printing establishments — Books 
printed and published in Luzerne county — Poetry : " Jackson and his 
Comrades ;" " Columbia ;" " Lines on visiting the Wyoming Monument ;" 
"Ode;" " The Sons of Wyoming ;" " Shawanee's Farewell ;" " To the 
Susquehanna ;" " Poor Man and the Doctor ;" " Death of Lieutenant 
Bowman ;" " Christmas ;" " Upon my life it's true ;" •' Mush and Milk ;" 
" Address to a Land Tortoise" — Debating societies — Libraries — Bible So- 
ciety — Sunday School Union — Temperance societies — Free Masonry — Odd 
Fellows and other beneficial societies — Wyoming Historical and Geological 
Society 389 

CHAPTER XIV. 

ROADS, MAILS, AND STAGES. 

First wagon road — Vehicles — Turnpikes — Plank-roads — Railroads — First lo- 
comotive in the United States — First train of passenger cars in Wyoming — 
Aggregate length and cost of railroads in Luzerne — First mails and post- 
offices — Stages, &c 439 

CHAPTER XV. 

NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA. 

Durham boats — Teamboat — Steamboats — Explosion of the " Susquehanna" — 
Ship-building — The launch — Lumber rafts and arks — Canals — Breaking 
ground — First canal boat — First packet boat — First canal boats sent north- 
ward — Sale of state canals 455 

CHAPTER XVI. 

CLIMATE. 

Temperature — Extraordinary drought — Fasting and prayer — Ice flood of 1784 
— Pumpkin flood — Subsequent floods — Hurricanes — Destruction of the 
Wilkesbarre bridge — Providence destroyed — Men and women carried away 
by the wind — Diseases — Deaths — Physicians 476 



I \ 



CONTENTS. xi 



CHAPTER XVII. 

WILD ANIMALS.— HUNTING.— FISHING. 

Panthers — Early hunters — Ishmael Bennett — Wheaton and the panther — Sox 
and the panthers — Arnold and the panther — Wolves — George A. Crockett — 
Scott and the bear — John McHenry, the hunter king — Great circle hunt — 
The beaver and other animals — Shad-fishing — The first seine — The widovf's 
haul — Connecticut salmon introduced into the Susquehanna — Rock fish — 
Bass — Trout-fishing — Extraordinary stories — A large pike .... 488 

.1 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Banks and bankers — Continental money — Shinplasters — Wyoming and Pitts- 
ton banks — Banking capital — Rates of discount — Insurance companies — 
Distilleries — Value of whiskey and other articles ninety years ago — Witches 
— Politics — Alien and sedition law — Election of Jefferson — Ox roasted — 
Candidates for ofBce recommended by the grand jury — Elections — Presi- 
dents — Governors — Congressmen — Members of the legislature — Gershom 
Prince — Mineral springs — Interesting items — Hominy block — Table of dis- 
tances 504 

APPENDIX. 

A. Names of settlers in 1763 — B. Names of subsequent settlers — C. Names 
of prisoners sent to Easton jail — D. Muster-rolls of independent companies 
— E. List of killed at Wyoming massacre, 1778— F. Muster-roll, 1794 — 
G. Muster-roll, 1799— H. Muster-roll, 1813—1. Names of militiamen who 
marched to Danville — J. Muster-roll of Wyoming Artillerists — K. Tax- 
ables of Exeter township — L. Taxables of Hanover — M. Taxables of Hunt- 
ington — N. Taxables of Kingston — 0. Taxables of Nescopeck — P. Taxables 
of Newport — Q. Taxables of Pittston — R. Taxables of Plymouth — S. Tax- 
ables of Providence — T. Taxables of Salem — U. Taxables of Wilkesbarre — 
V. Postmasters and offices — W. Statistical coal tables — Coal companies 
and operators — Railroads — Salt and Iron and Petroleum companies — 
X. Population in 1860— Y. Floods— Z. The great rebellion . . 535-562 

NOTES 563,564 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

Indian Relics . ... 19 

Teedyusctjng .... 39 

Capttire of John Franklin . . 93 

Stewart's Block-House . . 115 

Forty Fort 126 

Frances Slocum .... 139 

The Wyoming Monument . . 150 

View op Wyoming Valley . 159 

First House built in Carbondale 191 

The Slocum House . . . 222 

Sutton's Mill .... 228 

Red House 229 

Wyoming Valley Hotel , . 232 

Old Court-House, Wilkesbarre 244 

Luzerne County Jail . . . 251 

New Court-House, Wilkesbarre 252 

Court-Hodse, Carbondale . 259 

Old Academy, Wilkesbarre . 267 



PAOE 

Wyoming Seminary . . . 271 

Scranton Graded School . . 274 

Old Church, Wilkesbarre . 282 

Old Church, Forty Fort . . 293 

CoNESTOGA Wagon . . , 344 

Tannery, at Gouldsborough . 361 

Fell House .... 369 

A Miner 378 

Coal Breaker .... 378 
Baltimore Company's Coal Open- 
ing 379 

Mail Coach 450 

Durham Boat .... 456 

Stern Wheel Boat . . . 457 

Ship 465 

Deer 498 

Hominy-Block .... 632 



(Xii) 



ANNALS 



LUZERNE COUNTY. 



CHAPTER I. 
THE INDIANS. 

Alas ! for them their day is o'er, 
Their fires are out from shore to shore. 
No more for them the wild deer bounds, 
The plough is on their hunting grounds ; 
The pale man's axe rings through their woods. 
The pale man's sail skims o'er their floods ; 
Their children — look, by power oppressed, 
Beyond the mountains of the West — 
Their children go — to die ! — Sprague. 

Rejecting the theories that the human race advanced 
to its present development, by slow gradations, from infe- 
rior organizations, such as snails, oysters, and monkeys, 
or from separate and distinct acts of creation, and that 
climate and food have produced the various colors of the 
human family, we express our belief in the account of 
man's origin as recorded in Holy Writ, and entertain the 
opinion that the confusion of colors was a miraculous work 
simultaneous with the confusion of tongues. The word 
Babel signifies confusion, and is as applicable to color as 

to language. It was the object of the Almighty to scatter 

(13) 



14 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



the people abroad on the face of the whole earth, and to 
prevent their reunion ; and it is apparent no surer means 
could have been adopted by Divine wisdom to effect this 
end than to confuse their color as well as their language. 
Nations of the same color, but speaking different lan- 
guages, may unite by marriage or otherwise, but where 
language and color are both different, a union is ex- 
tremely improbable ; and between the extremes of colors 
there exists, in the superior race at least, an utter ab- 
horrence of the mingling of blood. It is said the natives 
in the wilds of Africa instinctively shrink from a marriage 
relation between themselves and the whites. The great 
Apostle Paul, in his speech to the Athenians, "in the 
midst of Mars' Hill," said, among other things, that God 
" hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell 
on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the 
times before appointed, and the bounds of their habita- 
tion." Again, we read in Deuteronomy, xxxii. 8 : " When 
the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, 
when he sej)arated the sons of Adam," &c. From these 
passages we understand that the Creator had fixed, or de- 
creed, in his eternal mind, the time when each nation, or 
race, should migrate, and also the continent or territory 
that should be occupied by each. If this be the true con- 
struction, it is probable that He who made the skin of the 
negro black, and that of the Indian red, guided the former 
to Africa, and the latter to the continent of America. 
The Aleutian Islands are near the coast of Asia, and 
extend almost to the peninsula of Alaska, a short distance 
beyond which the north-west coast of America begins. 
Behring's Straits, separating Asia from America, are only 
thirty-two miles in width. A canoe, or craft adrift, from 
the Polynesian islands, will be borne by the currents to 
the northern extreme of California. Hence, we conclude 



THE INDIANS. 15 



it would not be impossible, or even very difficult, for the 
ancestors or predecessors of the North American Indians 
to find their way from the Old to the New World. 

Within three hundred and fifty years after the confu- 
sion at Babel, Abraham found Egypt inhabited by a people 
measurably civilized. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah 
had been built and destroyed, and a large portion of Asia 
was settled. It would be no great strain on one's cre- 
dulity to believe that in three hundred and fifty years 
more some colony of adventurers had pushed their explora- 
tions northward across Behring's Straits, and had made a 
settlement on the fertile lands of the Western World. 
Less than three hundred and seventy years ago Columbus 
had not sailed from Palos on his voyage of discovery; and 
yet see what millions are now located between the Atlantic 
and Pacific Oceans, and are pushing their settlements to- 
wards every point of the compass. 

It is well authenticated that the Northmen discovered 
Greenland in the tenth century, and that in the year 
1002, Leif, a Norwegian, sailed south-west from Green- 
land and discovered the coast of New England. Thor- 
warld afterwards made a voyage in the same ship to the 
same coast, and was murdered by the Indians, whose 
enmity he had incurred. This continent, then, was peo- 
pled to its farthest eastern extremity long before Columbus 
discovered it. Whether the Indians he found here were 
the original people has been made a question. Or, whe- 
ther the Indians, as the Europeans found them, were not 
degenerated from a higher condition of civilization, than 
that then existing, has also been made a subject of dis- 
cussion. 

In the West are found mounds and fortifications, which 
indicate an advancement in the arts, to which the Indians 
were utter strangers. Similar evidences have been found 



16 AKNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



on our own Susquehanna. A very slight examination 
will satisfy any one that there was once a people on these 
shores who defended themselves by regular fortifications, 
buried their dead in a peculiar manner, and worked mines 
of copper, and of other metals, which were not practised 
by the Red men, when the colonies of Jamestown and 
Plymouth were planted. Rome, once stern and virtuous, 
became great and triumphant- over a vanquished world. 
But with the introduction of the many arts and refine- 
ments of other lands came luxury and debauchery, which 
were followed • by the flight of virtue and of valor. The 
hardy nations of the North, finding no longer virtuous 
courage to resist their onsets, poured down on the ener- 
vated empire, and barbarism covered refined and classic 
Italy. So, possibly, a similar scene may have been 
enacted in America. The original settlers, bringing with 
them the arts which flourished in Egypt, when the first 
Pharaohs were on the throne, may have eventually be- 
come luxurious and weak, and may thus have fallen an 
easy prey to barbarous but valorous hordes, who coveted 
their lands and possessions. 

Our knowledge of the Indian race begins with the dis- 
covery of America. They were then, as the vast majority 
of them are at the present day, hunters, living in rude 
huts, clothing themselves in the skins of animals, and 
using the bow, stone hatchet, spear, and arrow-head, as 
their weapons of attack and defence. They, as a race, 
have been uninfluenced by anything of civilization, except 
its vices. The strong-water of the white man has made 
sad havoc among them, and they are rapidly disappearing 
from North America. 

Kagegagahbowh, alias George Copway, an educated 
Indian of the Ojebwa tribe, informed the writer, that the 
Indians had a tradition that their ancestors came from 



THE INDIANS. 11 < 



the West, and that when they die they go back towards 
the setting sun to the country whence they came, and on 
their passage cross the water. That a very bad Indian, 
when he returns, finds a sterile soil and poor hunting in 
the Fatherland; that a pretty good Indian passes on 
through the poor country to other and better hunting- 
grounds ; and a very good Indian goes still farther, to a 
land where excellent game is found in great abundance, 
amid the most attractive scenes of nature. 

They have also a tradition that their forefathers were 
engaged in war with another race of people in this country, 
whom they exterminated, and drove out. This tradition 
of another people is corroborated by the fortifications and 
mounds before alluded to, also by heathen gods, imple- 
ments of husbandry, looking-glasses, and other articles 
found in Ohio and Western New York. 

When the forty settlers arrived in Wyoming, in 1769, 
they found the remains of an ancient fortification, or 
enclosure, respecting which the Indians could give no 
information as to its origin or use. Within this enclosure 
large trees were found growing, one of which, when cut 
down, was ascertained to be seven hundred years old. 
This work was located on the west side of Toby's Creek, 
in Kingston township, a few rods above the present road 
leading from Kingston to Wilkesbarre, but is now entirely 
destroyed. It was visited by Mr. Chapman, in 1817, and 
is described by him, in his History of Wyoming, as being 
of " an oval or elliptical form, and having its longest 
diameter from the north-west to the south-east, at right 
angles to the creek, three hundred and thirty-seven feet, 
and its shortest diameter from the north-east to the south- 
west two hundred and seventy-two feet. On the south- 
west side appears to have been a gateway, about twelve 
feet wide, opening towards the great eddy of the river, 



18 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



into which the creek falls. From present appearances, it 
consisted probably of only one mound, or rampart, which 
in height and thickness appears to have been the same on 
all sides, and was constructed of earth. On the outside 
of the rampart is an intrenchment, or ditch, formed pro- 
bably by removing the earth." 

Mr. Miner, in his History of Wyoming, says, "An- 
other fortification existed on Jacob's Plains, or the upper 
flats in Wilkesbarre. Its situation is in the highest part 
of the low grounds, so that only in extraordinary floods 
is the spot covered with water. Looking over the flats, 
in ordinarily high freshets, the site of the fort presents to 
the eye an island in the vast sea of waters." It was of 
the same size as the one in Kingston, and also had large 
trees growing out of the embankment, when the first 
white settlers arrived in the valley. There was a well of 
water in the interior. Between this fortification and the 
river was a burying-ground, where graves were found, with 
the dead laid horizontally in regular rows. When the canal 
was excavated, in another direction from the fort, a second 
graveyard was discovered, in which the dead were buried 
in a sitting posture. 

In 1814, Mr. Miner, in company with Chief Justice 
Gibson and Jacob Cist, Esq., visited the last-mentioned 
fortification, where they found a medal, bearing on one 
side the impress of King George I., dated 1714, the year 
in which he began his reign, and on the other side the 
likeness of an Indian chief. In 1839, the river washed 
out the remains of human skeletons near this fort, on the 
breast of one of which was found a picture of a lady 
pasted on an oval piece of glass, which had probably been 
worn as a locket. " Taken in connection with the medal 
of King George," says Miner, "I express the conviction 
that the picture must have been that of Queen Anne. 



'^ms^^^- 



W 1 ^A sise 





N°5. Va S3se 



I. supposed to ie i Speaes of ^toueliatchebs. Soil S>lone._ S.Flm!; arrow head, 
S.Doiible tdoed Stone Axe— 4. Supposed" Stone flayiao Knife '/& size picke(iuponthe"baTife 
of the Susc^uehanna luyl/ C.H.Dana .__ 5. Sboae AxUm s^\^e. 




]M0 12 



6ATiotb.ert.TnoreusualfomoffJint arrowhead 7Coppcr Spear W^^SEeEouniwjQTia the rtniains 
A-lines o? an Aueieut Fortification miQTi65r,0Ti Slndiannpe oflarthernWsre MruLby Jra. Marey. 
gJndiauBpe formed d a darldreen Stone IQ An MmRtEaraiRtifourai Ijy A.S.Uam nejr th£ iaiik 
of SusquchaQim Rwep inEato^omiui C"^ 11 A curious ima^e either of Stone mifk decomposed on 
perhaps larlhen EvidentlYanaentiiuifflTiear Easton 12 Slone forcrushiafi carn^diaiaetergHmaiyiJDtf 



THE INDIANS. 19 



What greatly strengthens this opinion is the fact that, in 
1710, in the reign of that queen, a deputation of chiefs 
of the Five Nations visited England." He (Mr. Miner) 
conjectures that the skeleton upon which the picture was 
found, was one of the two river chiefs, Elow~Oh-Koam, 
and Oh-Nee-Yeath-Ton-No-Prow, who were of this depu- 
tation, and were the heads of the Seneca and Oneida 
Indians. The one, he supposes, occupied the fortification 
at Kingston, and the other that on the Jacob Plains. 
But this conclusion is most probably incorrect. The indi- 
cations are decidedly in favor of the supposition that 
these fortifications were once occupied by a people very 
different from the Indians. The growth of large trees on 
the ramparts and within the enclosure, show that they 
must have been abandoned hundreds of years before the 
period when the deputation from the Five Nations visited 
England. The two populous graveyards, the different 
modes of burial, a large copper spear-head recently found 
on the site of the fortification at Kingston, point to two 
distinct people, who at different periods occupied these 
lands. The Indians never dug wells, erected forts, or 
used any other implements of warfare or husbandry than 
stone, wood, and clay, until after they became known to 
the whites. 

The accompanying plate and explanations of Indian 
relics, collected chiefly within Luzerne county, and depo- 
sited in the rooms of the Wyoming Historical and Geolo- 
gical Society at Wilkesbarre, will not be, we trust, unin- 
teresting to the reader.^ 

According to the tables, charts, and paintings of the 
Aztecs, conquered by Cortes in Mexico, the Toltecs, whom 
the Aztecs said they subdued and exterminated A. d. 1100, 
arrived in Mexico from the North a. d. 554. It is not 
improbable these were the people who erected the ancient 



20 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



foi dfi cations found here as well as throughout the valley 
of the Mississippi. 

When the first whites settled in New England, New 
York, and Canada, more than two hundred years ago, the 
oldest chiefs among the Iroquois, or Five Nations, had no 
knowledge of the early history of their union as a people, 
other than the tradition that they sprang from five hand- 
fuls of red seeds, like the eggs of flies. These were sown 
on the fertile fields of Onondaga, by Manitta, and after 
nine moons, boys and girls grew up from the seeds, whom 
Manitta carefully instructed, assigning to each nation its 
particular duties. He enjoined upon all the remembrance 
that they were brethren, and should unitedly defend their 
country from invasion while the sun and moon gave light, 
and the waters ran in the rivers. The Five Nations were 
a powerful and warlike confederacy, which held an abso- 
lute supremacy over a large extent of country. Their 
domain extended from the head waters of the Allegheny, 
Susquehanna, and Delaware rivers to the Lakes Erie and 
Ontario, and on the east to the borders of Vermont ; but 
they claimed authority over numerous tribes as far west- 
ward as the Wabash, and southward as Georgia. In 
1712, the Tuscaroras being expelled from their homes in 
the south, were adopted into the confederacy, which was 
known thenceforth as the Six Nations. The Tuscaroras 
were an efieminate race, and deficient in courage. The 
Grand Council fire of the confederacy was kindled in the 
Onondaga Valley, in the state of New York. Their ter- 
ritory they styled their Long House. The Onondagas were 
the chief counsellors ; they guarded the council fire, and 
to them belonged the duties of a civil character. The 
Senecas occupied the western portion of the Long House, 
the Mohawks the eastern, and the Cayugas the southern. 
Besides these were the Oneidas in the interior. Deputies 



THE INDIANS. 21 



from the confederate tribes met in their great council to 
consider questions of peace or war, and their proceedings 
were marked by a decorum and dignity which certain 
representative assembhes of our day and nation might 
copy with credit to themselves and their country. They 
were physically superior to the neighboring tribes — they 
were brave, upright, but ferocious in battle. The admin- 
istration of their public affairs was marked by foresight 
and wisdom, and their eloquence will compare favorably 
with that of more civilized nations. 

At an early period they formed an alliance with the 
Dutch on the Hudson, from whom they procured fire-arms. 
They conquered the Naragansetts and Mohegans in New 
England, the Hurons and Eries on the Great Lakes, and 
the Cherokees in the South. At one time they repelled 
the encroachments of the French, at another were united 
with the French in war against the English, and again 
were the allies of the English against the French. When 
the American Revolution broke out they took part with 
Great Britain, and desolated our frontiers with fire and 
the tomahawk. But when the English troops were with- 
drawn, after the proclamation of peace, they were no 
match for the arms and intelligence of the Americans. 
They have rapidly passed away before the advancement 
of civilization. A few remnants of these tribes remain on 
lands reserved for them by government in the state of 
New York, but their utter extinction is at hand. If they 
are susceptible of being taught the arts and manners of 
civilized life, they seem as a race to be wholly incapacitated 
to withstand its concomitant vices, wh^ch they greedily 
adopt and practice to an excess that entails speedy ruin. 

The Indians who inhabited the territory within the 
present limits of Luzerne county, were the Delawares, 
Monseys, Shawanese, Nanticokes, Wanamies, and Mohi- 



22 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



cans. Tliey were all subject to the Iroquois, or Six 
Nations, who had conquered them before the first settle- 
ments were made by the whites in Pennsylvania. They 
were allowed by their masters to retain their hunting- 
grounds, on condition of paying an annual tribute, but 
were liable to removal whenever the grand council at 
Onondaga so decreed. 



THE SHAWANESE. 

In 1608, when the French made their first permanent 
settlements in Canada, they found the Iroquois engaged 
in a blood}- war with the Hurons and Eries, who dwelt in 
the region of the great lakes. The Iroquois, or con- 
federated tribes, proved , victorious. The Eries, broken 
and subdued, divided and left their old hunting-grounds, 
the one portion, named the Kickapoos, going west of the 
Mississippi, and the other portion, or Shawanese, called 
by the French the Raccoon Indians, wandering south into 
Georgia and Florida. 

Becoming involved in war with the Spaniards and the 
southern Indian tribes, the Shawanese emigrated north- 
ward, and about the year 1690 commenced building a 
town at the confluence of the Wabash and Ohio ; but 
hearing of the mild and honorable character of William 
Penn, a number of them applied for permission to settle 
in Pennsylvania. The Conestoga Indians, who inhabited 
the country near Lancaster, became security for the good 
behavior of the Shawanese, who, by order of Penn's 
cousin and Lieutenant Governor, Colonel Markham, were 
located with their chief Gachgawatschiqua, on Pequea 
creek, below Lancaster, in the year 1697. 

In 1701, William Penn made a treaty with the Susque- 
hanna Indians, in which the arrangement of Colonel 



THE INDIANS. 23 



Markham was confirmed, and soon after this a number 
of the Shawanese, under their chief Kakowatchie, settled 
on the Delaware river, at Pechoquealin, while others took 
up their abode at Wyoming. 

During several years prior to the breaking out of the 
French war, in 1754, there was a constant effort upon 
the part both of the French and of the English, to secure 
the aid of the Indians in the event of hostilities. French 
Jesuits baptized and clothed them in coats trimmed with 
glittering lace, while the English gave them presents of 
beautiful pipes, and good rum, &c. The French warned 
them against the English, whom they represented as 
desirous to rob the Indians of their lands ; the English 
reiterated the same charge against the French. A vener- 
able chief, at a treaty held at Lancaster in 1744, said: 
" If the English and French have a quarrel, why don't 
they fight in their own countries beyond the water? 
Why do you come here to fight on our land ?" The 
Indians, untutored as they were, understood the question 
perfectly well, and being only desirous to secure the 
largest measure of profit for themselves, we're at a loss to 
decide between the two. The tribes on the Ohio and its 
tributaries, being more immediately under the influence 
of the French, were disposed to espouse their cause, while 
the tribes in Pennsylvania, in the neighborhood of the 
English, united with them. In 1728, the Six Nations, at 
the instigation of the French, ordered a number of the 
Delawares and Shawanese to remove from their old homes 
to new localities. The Shawanese at Pechoquealin, on 
the Delaware, below the Durham Iron Works, received 
orders to remove to Wyoming, at which place they would 
be more immediately under the eye of the confederacy. 
This order was obeyed with such promptness that they 
departed without gathering their corn ; and their sudden 



24 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



exit was wholly inexplicable to the governor and council 
of Pennsylvania, until 1732, when Governor Gordon was 
informed, by four Shawanese chiefs, that the Six Nations 
had said to them, with reference to their removal, " We 
will take Pechoquealin and put it on Meheahowming 
(Wyoming), and we will take Meheahowming and put it 
on Ohiah, and Ohiah -^^e'll put on Woabach, and that 
shall be the warrior's road for the future." They gave as 
a reason for the change that the Shawanese refused to 
j&ght the English. The Six Nations claimed authority 
over the Pennsylvania tribes by virtue of conquest, and 
removed them at will from one part of the territory to an- 
other, as policy dictated. 

In 1731, the number of Delawares and Shawanese in 
Western Pennsylvania, on the Ohio, Allegheny, and 
Connemaugh rivers, was 131 families, containing 425 
warriors. The Shawanese were those who had been 
removed from the Susquehanna at the command of the 
Six Nations. When Kakowatchie and his people arrived 
at Wyoming, they occupied the wigwams deserted by 
their brethren, who had gone to the Ohio. These were 
erected on the west side of the river, near where Plymouth 
now stands. Here Count Zinzendorf, accompanied by a 
missionary named Martin Mack and his wife, who spoke 
the Shawanese language, found them in the autumn of 
1742. 

DELAWARES. 

The Delawares called themselves Lenni Lenape, or the 
Original People, and when first found by the English 
were divided into three tribes, the Mousey, or Minsi, 
whose emblem was the wolf, the Wanamese or Turtle, 
and the Unalachitgoes, or Turkey tribe. The Monseys 
kindled their council fire in the Minisink above the 



THE INDIANS. ' 25 



Delaware Water Gap. We learn that they had a village 
in the Lackawanna Valley, near Scranton, in the year 
1728, and it is probable, for many years before. The 
other tribes occupied the country on the Delaware from 
the Water Gap eastward, through a portion of New 
Jersey, to the ocean. 

On the 23d of June, 1683, William Penn held a treaty 
of peace and friendship with these Indians, under a large 
elm-tree in Kensington, now Philadelphia, which, says 
Voltaire, was the only treaty ever made without an oath, 
and the only one kept inviolate. The Indians called 
Penn Onas, signifying Good, which appellation, we regret 
to say, could not be given to his heirs, Thomas and John 
Penn, who deserted the faith and principles of their father, 
and defrauded the Indians of their lands. They gave the 
savages rum or fire water, for questionable purposes, and 
they offered bounties for the scalps of the Delawares. 

From 1682 to 1686 several purchases of lands upon the 
Delaware were made from the Indians by William Penn 
and his agents, but from the want of a knowledge of the 
geography of the country, certain boundaries were defined 
in words such as, " as far as a horse can run in a day, or 
two days ; or, as far as a man can walk in a day," &c. 
Only one of these boundaries was ever settled by William 
Penn himself, who, with his friends and a number of 
chiefs, walked slowly, halting to eat, drink, and smoke, 
and in this way passed over less than thirty miles in one 
day. 

In 1718, a general deed of release was given by the 
Indians, making the Lehigh Hills the north-eastern 
boundary of the lands conveyed to the whites. Under 
this deed, all former instruments with walking boundaries 
should have been considered abrogated. After Penn's 
death, however, a copy of one of these walk deeds was 



26 ■ ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



found among liis papers, by Thomas and John Penn. 
They, m 1733, at a council, presented this deed to the 
Indians, and received from them an acknowledgment of 
its validity, and under this, an arrangement was made 
for a walk of one day and a half The Penns advertised 
for the fastest walkers in the province, offering five hun- 
dred acres of land and five pounds in money to the man 
who would walk farthest in one day and a half The 
under-brush was cleared away, and refreshments were 
placed at proper intervals along the route, which was 
laid out in a straight line by the com^Dass, contrary to the 
understanding of the Indians, who supposed it would lie 
along the Delaware. 

The longest days, in September, 1737, arrived, and 
Edward Marshall, James Yeates, and Solomon Jenings, 
with three Indians, started at sunrise from a chestnut- 
tree below Wrightstown meeting-house. In two and a 
half" hours they arrived at Red Hill, where Jenings and 
two of the Indians gave out. The other Indian continued 
on to the forks of the road near Easton, where he also 
gave out. Marshall and Yeates proceeded, and at sunset 
reached a point on the north side of the Blue Mountain. 
They started again next morning as the sun rose, and 
while crossing a stream at the foot of the mountain Yeates 
became faint and fell. Marshall continued on, and at 
noon arrived on a spur of the Broad Mountain, estimated 
to be eighty-six miles from the place of starting. From 
the point where Marshall stopped a line was run to the 
mouth of Shohola Creek, including within the purchase 
all the good land. The Indians were much dissatisfied, 
saying, Penn had got all of their good land, and that in 
the spring each of them would take him a buckskin and 
have their land back again, and Penn might go to the 
devil with his poor land. Under this purchase settle- 



THE INDIANS. 27 



ments were made by the whites, but the Indians refusing 
to give up possession, the Penns applied to the Six 
Nations to compel them to a surrender. A council was 
held in Philadelphia in the summer of 1742, at which a 
large representation of chiefs from the united tribes was 
present, and also the injured Delawares. The governor, 
on the part of the proprietaries, opened the council in a 
speech, in which he set forth that they had purchased the 
lands in question and paid for them ; and then, address- 
ing himself particularly to the chiefs of the Iroquois, 
said, " When the whites settle on your lands and you 
request us to remove them we do so, and now we expect 
you to act in the same good faith towards us." Canassa- 
tego, the great orator and chief of the Six Nations j then 
stood up, and addressing the Delawares said, " You de- 
serve to be taken by the hair of your heads and shaken 
till you recover your senses and become sober. We have 
seen a deed, signed by your chiefs above fifty years ago, 
for this very land. But how came you to take upon 
yourselves to sell lands at all ? We conquered you : we 
made women of you. You know you are women, and 
can no more sell lands than can women. Nor is it fit 
you should have the power of selling lands, since you 
would abuse it." After talking a considerable length of 
time, and charging them with many transgressions, he 
concluded by commanding them to remove from the land 
instantly, and gave them their choice to go to Shamokin, 
or Wyoming. He then gave them a belt of wampum, 
and ordered them to leave the council, as he had some- 
thing to say to the English. 

Leaving their wigwams on the banks of their favorite 
Makeerikkitton (Delaware), the once powerful Lenni 
Lenape commenced their march westward. A portion 
went to Shamokin, a village belonging to the Six Nations, 



28 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



which stood on the present site of Sunbury. Here, Shi- 
kellimus, the great Cayuga chief, and father of Logan, 
resided, and was superintendent of all the Susquehanna 
tribes. A few of the Delawares settled on the Juniata, 
near Lewistown, but the greater number of them, under 
their chief, Tadame, went to Wyoming, where they built 
a village (1742) on the flats below the present town of 
Wilkesbarre. 

The Wanamese, under their chief, Jacob, resided on 
the east side of the Susquehanna, above Mill Creek, since 
known as Jacob's Plains ; and the Monseys occupied the 
Lackawanna Valley, under their chief, Capouse. 

THE MOHICANS. 

The Mohicans were probably a branch of the Mohe- 
gans of New England, who at an early period settled on 
the head-waters of the Delaware river. They came to 
Wyoming with the Delawares, in 1742, and under their 
chief, Abram, built a village above Forty Fort, on the 
plain known as Abram's Plains. 

THE NANTICOKES. 

These Indians occupied the eastern shore of the Chesa- 
peake Bay. Difficulties arising between them and the 
whites, and a misunderstanding also existing between the 
Governors of Maryland and Virginia and the Six Nations, 
it was agreed to hold a council at Lancaster, and accord- 
ingly in June, 1744, the representatives of Pennsylvania, 
Maryland, Virginia, and the Six Nations, assembled at 
that place. After several days of deliberation they set- 
tled all matters in dispute respecting the lands. One 
object of this meeting was to brighten the chain of 
friendship, which, the Governor of Pennsylvania told the 



THE INDIANS. 29 



Indians, had become rusted, and to warn them against 
the seductive influence of the French. At this treaty, 
UUanckquam, alias Robert White, was present. He was 
Chief of the Nanticokes, and with eighty of his people, 
in accordance with arrangements made with the Six 
Nations, located on the east side of the Susquehanna in 
Wyoming, in 1748, near the present village of Nan ticoke. 
Besides these there were a few wigwams on Shick- 
shinny and Wapwallopen Creeks, and in Salem township, 
near Beach Grove. There was also a considerable Dela- 
ware village at Nescopeck, called by the Indians Nesco- 
pecken, and one on the east bank of the Susquehanna, 
about two miles above the mouth of the Lackawanna, 
called Asserughney. There was a Shawanese village 
west of Ross's Hill, between Plymouth and Kingston. 
These are all of the known locations of Indians within 
the limits of Luzerne. The Shawanese had a village at 
Fishing Creek, near Bloomsburg, and at Catawissa, Co- 
lumbia county, and also, a small settlement near Brier 
Creek below Berwick. The Delawares had a villao;e on 
Taconick (Tunkhannock), Wyoming county, said to have 
been a very old town. It is referred to by Henry Hess, 
who was captured by Teedyuscung on the Delaware, in 
1756, as containing at that time one hundred men, women, 
and children. At Wighalusui (Wyalusing), and at other 
points on the upper waters of the Susquehanna, there 
were many towns, which, with those already enumerated, 
formed a continuous chain from the country of the Six 
Nations to Shamokm (Sunbury). 

INDIAN PATHS. 

The runways, or paths of the aboriginal tribes, were 
almost as numerous as our roads, and may be traced along 



30 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



the banks of all large streams, except at points where the 
distance can be shortened, as by avoiding curves formed 
by the widening of the river or creek. They had, how- 
ever, great thoroughfares, called war-paths, two of which 
began at Diahoga (Tioga). One of these extended almost 
in a straight line through Bradford and Lycoming coun- 
ties, crossed the West Branch of the Susquehanna at 
Dunn's Island (Lockhaven), thence to Bedford, and thence 
to the Potomac. The other passed -down the North 
Branch of the Susquehanna, via Wyoming, to Shamokin, 
thence to the Juniata, near Huntingdon, and thence to 
Bedford, where it united with the former path. These 
were the great routes of the warriors of the Six Nations 
going south to war against the southern tribes. 

From Wyoming there was a path by the way of War- 
rior's Gap, uniting, at or near Mauch Chunk, with a path 
extending from Shamokin to the Delaware and Lehigh 
rivers. There was also another from Wyoming to Gnad- 
enhutten and Fort Allen, over the mountains, nearly in 
the route of the Wilkesbarre and Easton turnpike. Be- 
sides these, there was a path from Wyoming, via Shick- 
shinny Creek, through Huntington township, -and across 
the head-waters of Fishing and Muncy Creeks to the 
West Branch of the Susquehanna at the town of Muncy. 
The path from Wyalusing united with the path through 
Huntington township. The path from Wyoming to Ca- 
pouse, or the Monseys' Village, near Scranton, passed 
along the eastern bank of the Lackawanna, branching off 
at Capouse northward and eastward. The northern 
branch extended to Oquago, now Windsor, New York, via 
Leggett's Gap and Abington. The eastern branch ran via 
Dunmore, crossing the Moosic Mountain near John Cobb's, 
and thence through Little Meadows, in Wayne county, 
to Coshutunk (Cochecton) on the Delaware. The first 



T H E I N D I A N S. 31 



wagon road of the Connecticut settlers to Wyoming fol- 
lowed the path last named. 

Many of these thoroughfares were trodden, for hun- 
dreds of years, by the feet of the red men, until in many 
places they were worn down to the depth of one and two 
feet. They did not pass over the highest points of land, 
as some writers suppose, but these elevated places of 
observation were ascended by side paths connecting with 
the main routes. 

THE MORAVIAN MISSIONARIES. 

These pious adventurers established their first mis- 
sions in the West India Islands in 1732, and in Greenland 
in 1733. In 1735 they planted missions in Georgia 
among the Creek Indians, but the war between England 
and Spain compelled them to leave their settlement in 
1739, when they came to Pennsjdvania. Here they 
met the celebrated George Whitfield, and by his invita- 
tion settled on a tract of land, which he had purchased 
with the intention of establishing a free school for negro 
children. Mr. Whitfield had laid out and named the 
town Nazareth, and had commenced the erection of a 
large stone building, but becoming involved pecuniarily, 
and the Indians expressing dissatisfaction at the near 
approach of the whites, the settlement was abandoned. 
The Moravians then purchased a tract of land lower 
down on the Lehigh, and laid out the town of Bethle- 
hem in 1741. During this year Count Nicholas Louis Zin- 
zendorf, the principal elder of the society of the Moravians, 
and founder of the secret order of the Mustard Seed, 
arrived from Europe. Being desirous to extend the mis- 
sionary field, this self-sacrificing Christian nobleman, in 
the fall of 1742, resolved to visit the Susquehanna , In- 



32 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



dians, and with this view applied to Conrad Weiser''' to 
accompany him, but pressing business engagements com- 
pelled him to decline. However, the count secured the 
services of an interpreter, one Martin Mack, and his wife, 
and with them he set out on his wilderness journey. On 
their arrival in the Wyoming Valley, they pitched their 
tent on the bank of the river, a short distance from the 
Shawanese village. A council of the Indians was called 
to hear their errand of mercy, but the savages were not 
satisfied as to the real object of their visit. They knew 
that many white men were more anxious about their 
lands than about their souls, and they viewed the alleged 
disinterested regard ol Zinzendorf as a mere sham under 
which he designed to defraud them. Their suspicions 
increased, and they resolved to assassinate him. Three 
savages crept stealthily to his tent on this murderous 
errand. A blanket curtain, suspended upon pins, formed 
the door of his abode. By gently raising a corner of this 
curtain the Indians, undiscovered, had a full view of the 
good man, who sat unconscious of danger, with an expres- 
sion of devotion on his benignant features. They were 
awe-stricken by his appearance. It was a cool night in 
September, and the count had kindled a fire. Warmed 
by the ilame, a large rattlesnake had crept from its covert, 
and at this moment was gliding over the limbs of the holy 

* Conrad Weiser resided among the Mohawk Indians froiii 1716 to 1729, 
and spoke the languages of several tribes. In 1730, he removed to Tulpe- 
hocken, in Berks county. He became with Shikellimus, the Cayuga chief at 
Shamokin, the medium through whom business was transacted between the 
proprietary government and the Six Nations. lie was a most upright and 
worthy man, and was viewed by the Indians as their friend and guardian. 
He made repeated journeys among the Indians of the North and West, and 
he was no doubt, the first white man who ever trod the soil of Luzerne 
county. He was elected justice of the peace for Berks county. He kept the 
first tavern opened in Reading, and was commissioned colonel during the 
French War. He died in 1760. 



THE INDIANS. 33 



man, whose thoughts were engrossed by his devotions. 
The serpent escaped his notice, but the Indians, with 
breathless attention, had observed the movements of the 
poisonous reptile, and as they gazed upon the aspect and 
attitude of the Count, and saw the serpent offer him no 
harm, they changed their minds, says Stone, as suddenly 
as the barbarians of Malta did theirs, in regard to the 
shipwrecked prisoner, who shook the viper from his hand 
without even feeling a smart from its venomous fang. 
Their enmity immediately changed to reverence, and in 
the belief that Zinzendorf enjoyed the protection of the 
Great Spirit, they retired, and reported to their friends 
what they had seen. The Count was thenceforth regarded 
by these children of the forest with profound veneration. 
He remained in Wyoming several days, during which time 
Conrad Weiser arrived. Arrangements were made for 
further missionary labors among the several tribes of the 
Wyoming and Lackawanna Indians, and the Count then 
returned to Bethlehem. In 1743 he purchased Mr. Whit- 
field's tract of land at Nazareth, and completed the build- 
ing he had commenced. Bethlehem and Nazareth now 
became the centre of the operations of the Moravians. 
Missionaries proceeded thence to many Indian tribes 
throughout New England, New York, and Pennsylvania. 
In their devout zeal they penetrated beyond the Allegha- 
nies. 

These Moravians established a mission-house at Shamo- 
kin, and Shikellimus was brought under the influence of 
the gospel. He died in 1749, and on his death-bed 
exhorted his people to embrace the religion of the Saviour. 

A mission had been planted among the Mohican In- 
dians at Shekoniko, on the borders of Connecticut, but 
the whites growing jealous of the Moravians, and difficul- 
ties arising, they proposed, with the permission of the 



34 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY, 



Six Nations, to remove the Mohicans to Wyoming. To 
this the Mohicans objected, as Wyoming lay on the war- 
rior's path from the country of the confederacy to the 
south. It was arranged they should settle near Bethle- 
hem, where dwellings were erected for them, and the 
village called Fredenshutten, or Tents of Peace. The 
emigration increased so rapidly, to this point, that the 
Moravians purchased a tract of land, and laid out a town 
at Mahoning Creek, on the Lehigh. They erected forty 
log-houses and a chapel, calling the place Gnadenhutten, 
Huts of Grace. Between this new Christian Indian vil- 
lage and Wyoming there was a constant intercourse. 
Hungry savages, in times of scarcity, flocked to Gnaden- 
hutten, professing Christianity, and filling themselves at 
the tables of the pious missionaries. When the season 
for hunting came, they would return to the wilderness in 
pursuit of game, and with the profits of the chase would 
procure, from the heartless trader, the terrible fire-water, 
which causes the red and white man alike to forget their 
duty and their God. Some, however, were sincere in 
their professions, and remaining steadfast, died in the 
faith. The missionaries, Spangenberg, Heckewelder, Zeis- 
berger, Post, Mack, Butler, Seidel, Schmick, Fry, and 
others, received Indian names, and proclaimed the gospel 
to the heathen on both branches of the Susquehanna, on 
the Lackawanna, and throughout the whole of North- 
eastern Pennsylvania, wherever the smoke ascended from 
the rude bark wigwam. 

THE FRENCH WAR. 

We have already intimated that the French, through 
the influence of Catholic missionaries, who are often in 
advance of other denominations, had secured to their 
interest the Shawanese, the Delawares, and other Indians 



THE INDIANS. 35 



on the Ohio. However, Sir WiUiam Johnson* had suc- 
ceeded in dividing the Six Nations. The Mohawks, 
Oneidas, and Tuscaroras remained attached to the British 
cause. The Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas declared 
themselves neutral ; nevertheless, a considerable number 
of the two last-named tribes took up the hatchet with the 
Delawares, Shawanese, and other tribes, already in alli- 
ance with the French. Efforts were made by the French, 
through the Senecas and Cayugas, to induce the Susque- 
hanna Indians to declare in favor of Onontio, the French 
King, as the Indians named him. Their arts and pro- 
mises were crowned with success. In 1753 they succeed- 
ed in removing nearly all the Christian Indians from 
Gnadenhutten to Wyoming, hoping by this to place them 
beyond the influence of the whites. But the Moravian 
missionaries, who had a mission-house at that place, as 
well as at Shamokin, continued to minister to their 
spiritual necessities even after the warriors had raised the 
tomahawk against the English.t 

The news of Braddock's defeat in July, 1755, spread 

* Sir William Johnson was born in Ireland in 1714, and settled in 
America, on the Mohawk river, in 1734, on land belonging to his uncle. Sir 
Peter Warren. 

He became acquainted with the Six Nations, studied their character and 
acquired their language, and eventually exercised great influence over thera. 
In 1757, at the head of the English forces he defeated the French at Lake 
George, for which victory the House of Commons voted him 5000 pounds 
sterling, and the King conferred upon him the title of Baronet. At the same 
time he was tendered the office of superintendent of Indian affairs. He had 
two daughters, one of whom married Col. Guy Johnson. His son was Sir 
John Johnson. Sir William died in 1774. 

f Bishop Spangenberg sent Schmick and Fry to Wyoming, where they 
arrived November 10th, 1755, with a message to Paxinos, the Shawanese 
chief, who remained the friend of the English. Paxinos was requested to 
send to Shamokin and bring Marten Keifer, the missionary, to Wyoming, 
and then with Christian Frederick Post, who was stationed at Wyoming, all 
should return to Bethlehem. Frederick Post, as will be hereafter shown, 
had great influence over the Indians. 



36 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



rapidly over the country, carrying dismay to the hearts 
of the English settlers. The frontiers of Pennsylvania 
were threatened with ruin by the victorious French and 
their savage allies. The government of Pennsylvania did 
not act with the energy and promptness which the emer- 
gency demanded. No means were adopted for the pro- 
tection of the frontier settlements, and murders were com- 
mitted by the skulking enemy in many places in the north 
and west of the province. A flourishing German settle- 
ment at Mahanoy, or Penn's Creek, below Shainokin, was 
attacked, the inhabitants butchered, and their dwellings 
fired. John Harris, at the head of forty men, immediately 
marched to Shamokin to ascertain of the friendly Indians 
who had committed the outrage. Some of the Delawares 
seemed displeased at their visit, and four of their number 
left the town. Others expressed regret and a willingness 
to fight the French, declaring they had no knowledge of 
the affair. On the return of Harris's company, and while 
crossing a creek, they were fired on by Indians in ambush, 
four of them were killed and four were drowned. A few 
days after this, on the 2d of November, 1755, the settle- 
ments at Great and Little Coves were attacked by a war 
party under the command of Shingas, a western Delaware 
chief, who, it is said, although a small man, possessed 
great physical strength, and powers of endurance. Peti- 
tions and letters from the frontier settlements were sent 
to Philadelphia, praying the Assembly to adopt measures 
for the public defence. Scarrooyady, an Oneida, the 
Belt, Zigarea, James Logan,* John Shikellimus, the 

* This is Logan, the celebrated Mingo chief, who made the eloquent speech 
recorded by Mr. Jefferson in his Notes on Virginia. He was probably born at 
Shamokin, being one of the sons of Shikellimus, who had the supervision of 
the Susquehanna Lidians. His father, entertaining a high regard for James 
Logan, Esq., one of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, named 
him in honor of that gentleman. Logan lived on the Juniata a number of 



THE INDIANS. 37 



eldest son and successor of old Shikellimus at Shamokin, 
and Andrew Montour, son of Madame Montour, urged 
upon the Pennsylvania government the immediate adop- 
tion of prompt measures to repel the French; and some 

years, and when the whites began to settle about hun, removed west. Judge 
Brown, who was the first actual settler in the Kishacoquillas Valley, in 
Mifflin county, of this state, in speaking of the big spring not far from his 
residence, thus stated an incident in regard to Logan : " The first time I ever 
saw that spring, my brother, James Reed and myself, had wandered out of 
the valley in search of land, and finding it very good, we were looking about 
for springs. About a mile from this we started a bear, and separated to get 
a shot at him. I was traveling along, looking about on the rising ground 
for the bear, when I came suddenly on the spring ; and being dry, and more 
rejoiced to find so fine a spring than to have killed a dozen bears, I set my 
rifle against a bush and rushed down the bank, and lay down to drink. 
Upon putting my head down, I saw reflected in the water, on the opposite 
side, the shadow of a tall Indian. I sprang to my rifle, when the Indian 
gave a yell, whether for peace or for war, I was not then sufficiently 
master of my faculties to determine ; but upon my seizing my rifle, and 
facing him, he knocked up the pan of his gun, threw out the priming, and 
extended his open palm towards me, in token of friendship. After putting 
down our guns, we again met at the spring, and shook hands. This was 
Logan — the best specimen of humanity I ever met with, either white or red. 
He spoke a little English, and told me there was another white hunter a 
little way down the stream, and oifered to guide me to his camp. There I 
first met your father. 

" We visited Logan at his camp, at Logan's spring, and your father and 
he shot at a mark for a dollar a shot. Logan lost four or five rounds, and 
acknowledged himself beaten. When we were about to leave him, he went 
into his hut, and brought out as many deerskins as he had lost dollars, and 
handed them to Mr. Maclay, who refused to take them, alleging that we had 
been his guests, and did not come to rob him — that the shooting had been 
only a trial of skill, and the bet merely nominal. Logan drew himself up 
with great dignity, and said, 'Me bet to make you shoot your best — me 
gentleman, and me take your dollar if me beat.' So he was obliged to take 
the skins, or afifront our friend, whose nice sense of honor would not permit 
him to receive even a horn of powder in return." 

After Logan removed from the Kishacoquillas Valley to the West, his whole 
family, located on the Ohio, below Wheeling, was murdered " by some white 
savages, without a shadow of provocation." Not long after, he was accosted 
by a messenger from Lord Dunmore, who requested his presence at a treaty 
to be held on the Scioto in 1774. Logan replied to the messenger in the 



38 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



of them even went to Philadelphia, and declared to the 
Assembly that if they did not erect forts, and fight the 
enemy, all the Susquehanna Indians would desert the 
English caiise. Scarrooyady said he was disgusted with 
the neglect and inactivity of the English ; that the Indians 
could not remain neutral, and would fight on the one side 
or other ; and that quite a number had already received 
the hatchet from the French king. The frontier settlers 
threatened to invade Philadelphia, and compel the 
Assembly to furnish arms and ammunition for the protec- 
tion of themselves and their families. The difficulty in 
obtaining suitable measures for the public defense arose 
on this wise. Mr. Morris was governor at the time of 
Braddock's defeat, and in his commission was a clause 
prohibiting him from doing any act that might encumber 
the proprietary estates within the bounds of the province. 
When the state of affairs seemed imperatively to demand 
the raising of men and money for the war, the Assembly 
passed an act apj)ropriating 60,000 pounds to be issued 

following speech, which has, probably, been translated into every language 
of the civilized world: — 

" I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he entered Logan's cabin 
hungry, and he gave him not meat ; if ever he came cold and naked, and he 
clothed him not. During the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan 
remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the 
whites, that my countrymen pointed as they passed, and said, 'Logan is the 
friend of white men.' I had even thought to have lived with you, but for the 
injuries of one man. Col. Cresap, the last spring, in cold blood, and unpro- 
voked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not even sparing my women and 
children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living 
creature. This called on me for revenge. I have sought it : I have killed 
many: I have fully glutted my vengeance. For mj' country I rejoice at the 
beams of peace. But do not harbor a thought that mine is the joy of fear. 
Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is 
there to mourn for Logan ? — Not one." 

A war-club, says Mr. Jefferson, was found tied to Cresap's door, with a 
letter signed by Captain -J. Logan. 




XEEDYUSCUNG 



THE INDIANS. 39 



in bills of credit, and provided lor the liquidation of the 
same by the imposition of a tax on all real and personal 
estates, including the estates of the Proprietaries. The 
governor refused to sanction the bill, and long messages 
passed between the legislative and executive branches of 
the government, without arriving at a satisfactory adjust- 
ment of the difficulty. Finally, Governor Morris stated 
the case to the Proprietaries in London, and Thomas 
Penn wrote in reply, complimenting him for his adhesion 
to the tenor of his commission, but agreeing to furnish 
5000 pounds from the proprietary rents in the province. 
The Assembly then passed an act, November 27, 1755, 
appropriating 60,000 pounds, 55,000 to be issued in bills 
of credit, and 5000 pounds to be paid by the Proprietaries, 
while their estates were to be exempt from taxation. 
But by this time scores of innocent people had fallen 
under the murderous tomahawk of the savage. 

When the question relative to taxing the proj)rietary 
estates was pending between the governor and Assembly, 
the latter, in one of their messages, said, " What has this 
government done to offend the Delawares and Shawanese ? 
Have we not always lived in peace with them ? Why 
are they offended? 'Let us hold a treaty with them and 
persuade them." Such was the ridiculous language of 
the Assembly when the lives of hundreds were trembling 
in the balance. 

About this time, Teedyuscung was chosen king of the 
Delawares at Wyoming in the place of Tadame, who was 
friendly to the whites, and had been treacherously mur- 
dered, but by whom was unknown. Teedyuscung was 
born near Trenton in 1705^ and was one of those who had 
been forced from his land by the fraudulent consumma- 
tion of the walking purchase. He was a large muscular 
man, haughty in his bearing, witty, fond of admiration 



40 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



and of rum, a bold warrior, and a sagacious counsellor. 
" What has this government done to offend the Dela- 
wares?" asked the Assembly. The words and deeds of 
Teedyuscung proclann the deep-seated offense and its 
cause. Sending a large belt of wampum to the Susque- 
hanna Indians, and even to the Cherokees in the south, 
he said : " I am in exceeding great danger ; the English 
will kill me ; come and help me." The Delaware town 
at Nescopeck was made the rendezvous of the warriors. 
There assembled Shingas with his western warriors, and 
Buckshanoath the great Shawanese war chief of Wyoming, 
With these Teedyuscung attacked the settlements in 
Berks county on the 16th of November, 1755, spreading 
fire and death in all directions'. On the 24th of the same 
month, Gnadenhutten was attacked, a number of the 
people were murdered, and the buildings were laid in 
ashes. It is said the murderers of the people at Gnaden- 
hutten were commanded by a chief of the Six Nations, 
and not by Teedyuscung. In the beginning of December 
of the same year a council of war w^as held at Wyoming, 
by the Delawares, the Shawanese, the Nanticokes, and 
others, at which it was determined to lay waste the whole 
country on the Delaware. They danced the war-dance, 
and sang their death-songs. At the appointed time, the 
paths between Wyoming and the Delaware, over which 
the missionaries had so often carried the white flag of 
peace and good-will, were crowded with hostile savages, 
on an errand of blood and death. Two hundred warriors 
rushed from the mountain side upon the defenceless set- 
tlements. Nearly the whole of Marshall's family, the 
man who performed the walk, and afterwards declared 
that the Penns refused to pay him, w^ere put to death. 
Teedyuscung, at the head of a scouting party, fired into 
a company assembled at a funeral. He penetrated into 



THE INDIANS. 41 



New Jersey, and even approached within a few miles of 
Easton. During the month of December, fifty dwelUngs 
were burned in Northampton county, upwards of one 
hundred men, women, and children were murdered and 
scalped, and nearly as many were carried away into cap- 
tivity. This destruction of life and property is attributa- 
ble to the quarrel which existed between the governor 
and Assembly, in reference to taxing the proprietary 
estates. The Assembly are wholly inexcusable for their 
neglect of the public defense at that critical period. The 
great body of the Indians in Pennsylvania, who were dis- 
posed to arm against the French, being left to themselves 
and unsupported by the government, were easily per- 
suaded, by the promises and presents of the French 
agents, to make war upon the English. John Shikelli- 
mus, Logan, and nearly all the Shamokin Indians, deserted 
their former haunts, and repaired to more distant locali- 
ties, where they became identified with those engaged in 
hostilities. But The Belt, Aroas, or Silver Heels, Scar- 
rooyady, and Andrew Montour retired among the English 
settlements, where they were employed by the governor 
as messengers. Andrew Montour was the son of an 
Indian chief, by a French woman, known as Madame Mon- 
tour, who resided at the Indian village of Ostenwawen, 
situated on the West Branch, above the present town of 
Northumberland. Montour Ridge and Montour county 
have derived their name from her. Andrew was a friend 
to the English, often brought them important intelligence, 
and, from his intimate knowledge of the Indian character, 
could give advice which it was safe to follow. 

Paxinos, an aged Shawanese chief, residing at Wyoming, 
has also been mentioned as the fast friend of the English. 
It was he, who, in the interview with Charles Broadhead, 
a relative of the Hon. Richard Broadhead, on the 9th of 



42 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



November, 1755, at Wyoming, urged upon him to hasten 
to the governor, and induce him to send a messenger to 
the Indians in the Valley, with belts of wampum and 
presents, to secure them to the English hiterest. The 
message contained a warm and pressing invitation to all 
the Indians to attend a treaty, or council, to be held on the 
first day of January, 1756, at John Harris's. But before 
the messenger started on his dangerous journey, Teedyus- 
cung had devastated the country of the Delaware ; and, 
among others, the plantations of Mr. Broadhead, and of 
Aaron Duphuy, who had been selected to bear the mes- 
sage to the Wyoming Indians. On the first of January 
he was engaged, with thirty of his warriors, in scalping 
the remaining inhabitants, and burning their dwellings, 
of Smithfield township, Monroe county. To return to 
Paxinos. He used every argument to dissuade the Del- 
awares and his own warriors from taking up the hatchet 
against the English. He pressed his solicitations with 
such zeal that the Delawares threatened to take his life. 
When the warriors began to dance the war-dance, he, 
with Abram and about thirty others, chiefly old men and 
women, retired to a village west of Kingston, near Blind 
Town, where he remained until all the Indians departed 
the valley for the country of the Six Nations. 

On the first of January, 1756, Buckshanoath, leading 
a party of savages, attacked and put to flight a compan}^ 
of forty soldiers, at Gnadenhutten, sent to erect a fort at 
that place. Buckshanoath was a co-worker with Teed- 
yuscung in his expedition against the English. 

At this time Teedyuscung captured Peter Hess, Henry 
Hess, Nicholas Cileman, Leonard Wesser, William Wesser, 
and others. On his return to Wyoming with his booty 
and his prisoners, he encamped for the night on the 
Pokono Mountain. Here the savages killed Peter Hess, 



THE INDIANS. 43 



cutting him almost in pieces with their knives, and tied 
the others to trees. They kindled a large fire, but the 
night was so cold that they could not sleep. At da3'light 
they set out, and arrived at Wyoming in the evening. 
They found the valley de.serted. The party pushed on 
to Tunkhannock, where they found about one hundred 
men, women, and children, and where the prisoners re- 
mained until the cold weather was over. They were 
afterwards taken to Diahoga, and stayed there until they 
were brought down, and delivered up to their friends, at 
the treaty at Easton, in the following November. 

Scarrooyady and Andrew Montour had been sent, in 
December, by Governor Morris, by the way of Wyoming, 
with a message to General William Johnson, on the Mo- 
hawk. They returned to Philadelphia, via Albany, and 
reported that they had found the warriors in Wyoming 
collecting, preparatory to their murderous enterprise, and 
had offered them a peace-belt, which they pushed aside 
with a stick, and commenced the war-dance. They stated 
further that John Shikellimus and his two brothers, one 
of whom was Logan, had joined' the war-party, but that 
they had taken him aside, and he had promised he would 
not go. Shikellimus afterwards stated to Conrad Weiser 
and the council, when interrogated, that he did not go 
with the warriors, but that his brothers did. If this was 
the fact, how can we reconcile it with a statement made 
in Logan's celebrated speech to the messenger of Lord 
Dunmore, in 1774, in which he says, "During the course 
of the last long and bloody war, Logan remained idle in 
his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for 
the whites that my countrymen pointed as they passed, 
and said, Logan is the friend of white men !" 

The council to be held by Governor Morris at Harris's, 
on the first of January, 1756, was removed to Carlisle, 



44 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



and it may be said to have been a failure. No Indians 
appeared, except The Belt, Captain Newcastle, Silver 
Heels, Andrew Montour, and a few others, already in the 
English interest. It was now determined to erect forts 
and garrison them, since the Assembly had, at length, 
placed funds at the disposal of the governor. In January 
and February six or eight substantial fortifications were 
built. Among others. Fort Allen, on the Lehigh, which 
was constructed under the supervision of Dr. Franklin, 
and named by him in honor of William Allen, the 
Supreme Judge of the Province. In the following sum- 
mer Fort Augusta was built at Shamokin, named in 
honor of Augusta, daughter of George II., who married a 
Duke of Saxony. 

In April, Governor Morris, with the approval of the 
Supreme Executive Council, except James Logan, who 
entered his protest, issued a declaration of war against 
the Delawares and their associates, and offered the follow- 
ing hounties for scalps and prisoners : — For a male Indian 
prisoner, above twelve years of age, delivered at any of 
the government forts or towns, $150 ; for every male or 
female prisoner, twelve years old and under, delivered as 
above, $130 ; for the scalp of every male Indian above 
twelve 3'ears old, $130; and for the scalp of an Indian 
woman, $50. The Quakers and Moravians exclaimed 
against the barbarous character of the proclamation, and 
the Assembly was in an uproar. But the war-party was 
gratified, and the frontiersmen began to hope for deliver- 
ance from their bloodthirsty foes. The highly excited 
condition of men's minds at this period produced by the 
shocking barbarities of the Indians, must be the only 
palliating excuse for this most unchristian measure. 

A few days after this, the governor issued his procla- 
mation, setting forth Friday, the 21st of May, as a day 



T PI E I N D I A N S. 45 



of fasting and praj-er to Almighty God for peace, har- 
mony, pubHc spirit, and the protection of the frontier 
settlers from murder, &c. But through the influence of 
General Johnson, afterwards Sir William Johnson, with 
the Six Nations, the way was paved for a council with 
Teedyuscung. The declaration of war was suspended for 
thirty days, and Captain Newcastle and two other friendly 
Indians, in May, set out for Diahoga. Passing through 
"Wyommg, they found that the entire Indian population, 
from Shamokin to Wyalusing, had gone northward. In the 
valley there reigned the silence of the grave. At Diahoga, 
Newcastle found Teedyuscung in council with the chiefs 
of the Six Nations. But soon the Delawares, Shawanese, 
Monseys, and Mohicans, assembled to hear what New- 
castle had to say. 

He delivered Governor Morris's message, inviting them 
to a council to be held at Easton, in July. He was favor- 
ably answered by Teedyuscung and Paxinos, when he 
took his departure. In July, on the day appointed, 
Teedyuscung, with a few of his warriors, arrived in 
Easton, where he was met by the governor and his coun- 
sellors. The Delaware king opened the council by saying 
he had come as the messenger of ten nations, meaning 
the Six Nations, and the four, who were convened to 
hear Newcastle at Diahoga. He wished to hear what 
the governor had to say. " If it be good I shall lay hold 
of it, and carry it to the United Nations, who will smile 
and be pleased to hear good news ; and if what you say 
be disagreeable, I will, notwithstanding, kee]3 it close 
(closing his fist), and deliver it faithfully to the Nations. 
Hearken to what I say. Abundance of confusion, disor- 
der, and distraction have arisen among Indians from 
people taking upon them to be kings and persons of 
authority. With every tribe of Indians there have been 
such pretenders who have held treaties, sometimes public, 



46 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



sometimes in the bushes. Sometimes what they did was 
come to be known, and frequent!}^ remained in darkness. 
To some they held up their belts, but others never saw 
them. This bred among the Indians heart-burnings and 
quarrels, and I can assure you that the present clouds do 
in a great measure owe their rise to this wild and irregu- 
lar way of doing business, and the Indians will have no 
more transactions in the dark." Here he presented the 
governor a string of wampum. Being asked if he had 
done speaking, he said he had, for the present. The main 
thing, he added, is yet in my breast, laying his hand on 
his heart, but this will depend on what words the governor 
will speak to us. Then he repeated the Delaware word 
Whish-shiksi/, the same in the Mohawk as lago, with great 
earnestness, and a very pathetic tone, meaning he strong, 
look ahoicf, active. The governor then spoke : " Brother, 
I have heard, with attention, all you have said, and thank 
you for the openness with which you have declared your 
sentiments." After delivering a lengthy speech, he pre- 
sented many belts, and assured the Indians of his desire 
for peace. To which Teedyuscung replied as follows : — 
" Brother, this belt," lifting up a large string of wampum, 
" denotes that our uncles, the Six Nations, have lately 
renewed their covenant chain with us (meaning the Dela- 
wares). Formerly we were accounted women, and em- 
ployed only in women's business, but now they have made 
men of us, and as such are now come to this treaty, 
having this authority as a man to make peace. I have 
it in my hand, but have not opened it, but will soon 
declare it to the other nations. This belt holds together 
ten nations. We are in the middle between the French 
and English. Look at it. This belt further denotes 
that whoever will not comply with the terms of peace, 
the ten nations will strike him. See the dangerous 
circumstances I am in — stronn; men on both sides — 



T H E I N D I A N S. 47 



hatchets on both sides. Whoever is for peace, him 
will I join. Brother, this is a good day. Whoever will 
make peace, let him lay hold of this belt." Here the 
governor took hold of the belt, and said, he was pleased 
with what the king had said. The figures on the belt 
were then explained — the English were represented on 
one end, the French on the other, and the land of the 
Indians lay between them. Teedyuscung and his son 
then dined with the governor, soon after which he 
departed for Diahoga. Pursuant to an agreement made 
before he left, he returned to another council held at 
Easton on the 8th day of the following November. He 
brought with him four chiefs of the Six Nations, sixteen 
Delaware Indians, two Shawanese, and six Mohicans. 
The council, which continued nine days, was opened by 
a speech from Governor William Denny, who had suc- 
ceeded Governor Morris. He was answered by Teedy- 
uscung — belts and strings were passed and repassed, the 
blood was wiped out of the paths, and the tears from the 
eyes — the leaves, bushes, and briers were cleared away, 
and plasters were placed on the wounds. In one of his 
speeches on this occasion Teedyuscung said, " This very 
ground that is under me," striking it with his foot, "was 
my land and inheritance, and was taken from me by 
fraud. When I say this ground, I mean all the land 
lying between Tohiccon Creek and Wyoming, on the 
river Susquehanna. I have been served so not onl}^ in 
this government, but the same thing has been done to me- 
in New Jersey." When asked what he meant by fraud, 
he gave the governor instances of forged deeds under 
which lands were claimed, which the Indians never sold — 
this is fraud. He continued his remarks, and said, " The 
Delawares had never been satisfied since the treaty of 
1737, when their fathers sold the lands on the Delaware 



48 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



river — that although the lands sold were to have extended 
so far only as a man could go in a day and a half from 
Nashamony Creek, yet the person who measured the 
ground did not Avalk, but ran. He was, moreover, as 
they supposed, to follow the winding bank of the river, 
whereas he went in a straight line. And, because the 
Indians had been unwilling to give up the land as far as 
the walk extended, the governor, then having command 
of the English, sent for their cousins, the Six Nations, 
who had always been hard masters to them, to come down 
and drive them away. When the Six Nations came 
down, the Delawares met them at a great treaty held at 
the governor's house, in Philadelphia, for the purpose of 
explaining to them why they did not give up their lands. 
But the English made so many presents to them that 
their ears were stopped. They would listen to no expla- 
nation, and Canassatego had; moreover, abused them, 
and called them women. The Six Nations had, however, 
given to them and the Shawanese the lands on the Sus- 
quehanna and Juniata for hunting-grounds, and had so 
informed the governor. But notwithstanding this, the 
whites were allowed to go and settle on these lands. Two 
years ago, moreover, the governor had been to Albany to 
buy some land of the Six Nations, and had described 
their purchase by points of the compass, which the 
Indians did not understand, including lands on the Sus- 
quehanna and Juniata, which they did not wish to sell. 
When all these things were known to the liidians, they 
declared they would no longer be friends to the English, 
who were trying to get all their country away from them. 
He, however, assured the council he was glad to meet 
with the English, and smoke the pipe of peace, and 
hoped that justice would be done to them for all the inju- 
ries they had received." 



THE INDIANS. 49 



Arrangements were then made for holding another 
council, at Lancaster, in the following May. At that 
time and place a number of the Six Nations and of others 
assembled, with the authorities of Pennsylvania; hut 
although this appointment was made at the suggestion 
of Teedyuscung, neither he nor any of his people were 
present. Nevertheless, this council was attended with 
good results, for it opened the way for the reconciliation 
of the Senecas, the fiercest and most terrible warriors of 
the Six Nations. A message was sent to Teedyuscung, 
requesting another council to be held at Easton in July, 
at which time and place he arrived with one hundred 
and fifty-nine Delawares, and one hundred and nineteen 
Senecas, men, women, and children. In a few days these 
were followed by sixty-four more, among whom were 
Paxinos, the Shawanese chief, Abraham, the Mohican 
chief, and a number of their people, together with several 
Nanticokes. This council was conducted by Governor 
Denny on the one side, and by Teedyuscung on the 
other, and continued twenty-one days. The Delaware 
king conducted himself with great dignity, notwithstand- 
ing he drank large quantities of " fire-water," It is said, 
he could drink three quarts of rum a day and not lose his 
equilibrium, or be confused in thought or word. He 
made everything, on this occasion, bend to his will. He 
demanded a private secretary, but was refused, being told 
such a thing was unknown in all former Indian treaties, 
and that his demand exhibited a want of confidence in 
the governor and his council. He, however, insisted, and 
selecting Charles Thompson, master of the Free Quaker 
School in Philadelphia, and afterwards secretary to the 
Continental Congress, he conducted him to the table, and 

seated him beside the governor's secretary. He gave 
4 



50 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



him an Indian name, signifying " Man of Truth," and 
then expressed his willingness to proceed to business. 

He demanded that all deeds, given by the Indians to 
the proprietaries, should be exhibited, together with cer- 
tain letters; but this was refused by Mr. Peters, who 
said he had no authority to exhibit them. Teedyuscung 
insisted on his demand, which was finally complied with. 
He then reiterated his former speeches, and demanded 
that for all lands embraced within said deeds, for which 
the Indians had not been paid, just compensation should 
be made. This was agreed to. He further insisted that 
Wyoming, and certain other lands on the Susquehanna, 
should be the property of the Indians, for ever ; that the 
Pennsylvania government should not on any account dis- 
pose of them ; and that said government should build 
comfortable dwelling-houses for him and his people at 
Wyoming, to which j)lace the Delawares, Shawanese, 
Mohicans, and others, intended to remove in the spring, 
from Diahoga. Teedyuscung further demanded, that 
when the Indians returned to Wyoming they should be 
supplied with missionaries to preach the Gospel, and 
teachers to teach their children to read and write. These 
demands were also acceded to. The pipe of peace was 
then filled with good tobacco, and being smoked, the 
council closed. The Nanticokes went to Lancaster to 
remove the bones of their friends to their new homes on 
the Chemung and Shenango rivers, while the Senecas, 
Shawanese, Delawares, and Mohicans, being well supplied 
with presents from the governor, returned to Diahoga. 
Teedyuscung, with his sons and a number of warriors, 
remained at Easton and Bethlehem, whence he sent out 
scouts with the English troops, to watch and oppose the 
movements of the French and hostile Indians from the 
Ohio, who were prowling on the frontiers. 



THE INDIANS. 51 



The defeat of the French under Baron Dieskow, at 
Lake George, hy General Johnson, in September, 1757, 
and the discovery of a conspiracy, on the part of the 
French, to destroy the Six Nations, by uniting all the 
western tribes against them, caused most of the Senecas 
and Cayugas to take sides with the English. But the 
Delawares, Shawanese, and others, resident on the Ohio, 
remained in alliance with the French. In the spring of 
1758 the Pennsylvania government, in compliance with 
their promise to Teedyuscung, erected a number of log- 
houses in Wyoming, on the site of the old Indian village, 
below Wilkesbarre. To these repaired Teedyuscung and 
many of the Delawares, while others, and nearly all the 
Shawanese, when leaving Diahoga, went to the Ohio, 
whence they never returned. 

Mr. Chapman, and all other writers on Wyoming, have 
given an account of what they call the "Grasshopper 
War." It is said to have occurred between the Delawares 
and Shawanese, on the flats below Wilkesbarre, and to 
have been a contest of the most sanguinary character. 
It resulted in the expulsion of the Shawanese from the 
valley. As the story goes, a few Shawanese squaws, 
with their children, crossed the river into the territory 
of the Delawares, and, with a number of the Delaware 
women and children, were gathering wild flowers, when 
a Shawanese child caught a grasshopper, which was 
claimed by a child of the Delawares. A struggle ensued, 
in which the women took part. The Shawanese being 
worsted returned home, and reported what had taken 
place, Avhen the warriors armed, and crossing the river a 
terrible battle ensued, in which hundreds on both sides 
were slain. We can find no record of any disagreement 
between the Delawares and Shawanese. All statements 
made respecting them represent these two peoples living 



52 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



ill peace, and entertaining the Moravian missionaries from 
1742 to 1756, when they all departed for Diahoga. 
Neither party had hmidreds of warriors to lose, for the 
whole number from Shamokin to Tunkhannock, including 
the Monseys on the Lackawanna, did not exceed three 
hundred and fifty. We therefore conclude, if there ever 
was a " Grasshopper War," it was a very small affair, 
and probaJDly closed as it commenced with a few blows 
and scratches among women and children. 

It now became an important object, with Governor 
Denny and Sir William Johnson, to secure a treaty of 
peace with the Western Indians. Christian Frederick 
Post, who had been a pious and zealous Moravian Mis- 
sionary at Wyoming and at other stations, for seventeen 
years, was selected to convey to them the white belt of peace 
and reconciliation. He had been twice married to Indian 
women, and was intimately acquainted with the Indian 
character. Teedyuscung protested against his going, de- 
claring lie would never return alive, but the bold and 
confident Christian said, it was a mission of peace, that 
God would protect him, and that he must go. On the 
15th of July, 1758, he left Philadelphia with five Indian 
guides. He carried with him copies of the treaties made 
with Teedyuscung, belts of wampum, and messages from 
the Governor. He made his journey by the way of 
Bethlehem, Shamokin, Lock Haven, &c. It was an ardu- 
ous and perilous expedition. Twice he got lost in the 
woods, and one of his guides strayed away, and could not 
be found. Without food and drenched with rain, night 
after night he slept on the cold wet ground. Passing 
within ten yards of the French fort at Venango, says he, 
in his journal, ''I prayed the Lord to blind them as he 
did the enemies of Lot and Elisha." Finally he arrived 
at King Beaver's, who presided over the Delaware Indians 



T II E I N D I A N S. 53 



in the West. King Beaver and his people, especially 
those to whom he had preached the gospel at Wyoming, 
were glad to see him. They gave him a public dinner, 
and danced about him. They sent messengers to all the 
surrounding tribes to come and hear what the English 
had to say. 

The French sent spies to the town to watch him, and 
insisted on his coming to Fort Du Quesne. They repre- 
sented to the Indians that when messengers arrived 
among the whites, it was customary to blindfold them, 
and lead them into a small room, and then hear what 
they had to say. ' They desired that Post should be thus 
led to the Fort. Some of the Indians requested him to go 
to the Fort, but he refused, and it was agreed he should 
hold a council with the Indians on the opposite bank of 
the river. He told the red men he had nothing to do with 
the French, and that they must protect him. This they 
promised to do. When all were assembled he laid before 
them the proceedings of the councils held with Teedyus- 
cung, but they refused to hear them read, saying, that 
Teedyuscung could not make peace for them — they had 
nothing to do with him. ''This day," says he, "I had 
such great trouble that it made me sweat." 

He, however, succeeded in making arrangements for 
kindling a great council-fire at Easton, to which all the 
tribes promised to send representatives. Post now set 
out on his return, and had not proceeded far when he 
heard the thunder of nineteen cannon discharged at the 
Fort. Under the very mouths of these cannon, he had, 
singly and alone, with the full knowledge of three hun- 
dred Frenchmen, laid a plan which sundered the union 
between them and their Indian allies. 

In October following, the council agreed upon was held 
at Easton, where upwards of five hundred Indians assem- 



54 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



bled. They were met by the Governors of Pennsylvania 
and New Jersey, and by Sir William Johnson, by Conrad 
Weiser and his corps de interpretre, Mr. Peters, by the 
Supreme Executive Council, and members of the Assem- 
bly, and by hundreds of spectators from Philadelphia. 
They had convened to light their pipes, and burn that 
good tobacco, the smoke of which should ascend to the 
clouds, and be seen by all the Indians to the going down 
of the sun. Teedyuscung assumed to act as chief speaker, 
Avhich excited the jealousy of the chiefs of the Six Na- 
tions, who looked upon the Delawares as subjects, but he 
sustained himself with dignity. Long speeches were 
delivered by the governors, by Sir William Johnson, 
and by a number of the chiefs. A good understanding 
being established, the council adjourned after a session of 
nineteen days. The Indians were supplied with hats, 
caps, knives, jewsharps, powder and lead, paints, and 
walking sticks (their name for rum). Teedyuscung and 
other chiefs received each a military hat trimmed with 
lace, a regimental coat, and a. ruffled shirt. In less than 
four weeks after the departure of the Indians from Easton, 
the French evacuated and fled from Fort Du Quesne 
before the advancing English troops under Gen. Forbes. 
In Sept. 1759, Quebec surrendered. In 1762 Montreal 
and other strongholds yielded to the British arms, and 
in 1763 Canada passed from the French dominion to the 
British Crown. 

THE SECOND INDIAN WAR. 

For a period of nearly five years succeeding the last 
treaty held at Easton, the frontiers of Pennsylvania were 
exempt from Indian hostilities or depredations, except 
the practice of horse stealing, to which the savages were 
always addicted The Indians frequently visited Phila- 



T H E I N D I A iV S. 55 



delphia in parties, and received attention and presents 
from the governor. In 1762, the chain of friendship 
between them and the whites was strengthened and 
brightened at a great council held at Lancaster, attended 
by chiefs from the Six Nations, by the western Indians, 
and by those in Pennsylvania. At this treaty Teedyus- 
cung withdrew the imputation of forgery made at Easton 
against the younger Penns, and their agents, but adhered 
to the charge of fraud as connected with the walking 
purchase. He, however, signed a release for all claims 
upon lands on the Delaware, and received, for himself and 
his people, 700 pounds Pennsylvania currency ($1800) in 
money and goods. 

The Moravians re-established their missions at Gnaden- 
hutten, Wyoming, Wyalusing, and at other points, and 
the whites, on the frontiers, recovering from the effects 
of the last long and bloody war, were anticipating the 
blessings of a prosperous peace. 

The expectation was a vain one. In April, 1763, 
Teedyuscung's dwelling was set on fire and consumed, 
together wdth himself, who was in a state of helpless 
intoxication. It is strongly suspected that this was the 
deed of some of the warriors of the Six Nations, one of 
whose chiefs Teedyuscung had slain in former times. 
Moreover, the presumption and importance which he 
had exhibited in the councils held at Easton and Lan- 
caster, had probably rendered him an object of strong 
dislike to the leading men of the Indian confederacy. 
An effort was made by the murderers, or their friends, to 
induce the belief in the Delawares that Teedyuscung had 
been killed by the Connecticut settlers, who were now 
beginning their settlements in the valley. It is not 
known if the Delawares ever believed so silly and im- 
probable a story. But in June following, the Delawares 



56 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



and Shawanese murdered several white families in the 
west. They attacked Fort Venango, and put the garrison 
to death, and carried several women and children into 
captivity. Governor Hamilton called the Assembly to- 
gether ; but before the frontiers could be placed in a 
state of defence the savages had committed most shock- 
ing barbarities. Many murders and burnings were per- 
petrated in Northampton, Berks, and Lancaster counties, 
and the Connecticut settlement at Wyoming was broken 
up and destroyed. Many of these barbarous deeds were 
committed by the Indians of New York, and it is more 
than suspected that by their arts and intrigue the Sus- 
quehanna Indians, whom the Pennsylvania government 
had taken so much pains to conciliate, were involved, 
contrary to their wishes. These unprovoked and unex- 
plained attacks excited the frontier settlers beyond all 
bounds. The Christian Indians at Conestoga were sus- 
pected of, and detected in, harboring hostile savages, and 
their removal or extermination was resolved upon. A 
number were killed by the exasperated men of Paxton ; 
others were collected at Bethlehem, and, under the super- 
intendence of David Zeisberger and Jacob Schmick, in 
April, 1764, they set out for Wyalusing, on the Susque- 
hanna. They rested at Wyoming, and from this place 
proceeded by water to their place of destination, where 
they arrived after a journey of five weeks. Here they 
laid out a town, erected forty log houses and a meeting- 
house, and named the place Friedenshutten — tents of 
peace. 

John Penn, one of the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania, 
and grandson of William Penn, arrived in Philadelphia, 
and entered on the duties of governor in the fall of 1763; 
and in July, 1764, offered the following rewards for In- 
dian scalps : — " For every male above ten years of age, 



T H E I N D I A N S. 57 



captured, $150; for every male above ten years of age, 
scalped, being killed, $130 ; for every female above ten 
years of age, scalped, being killed, $50." Here we have 
a bounty on murder offered by a descendant of the wise 
and benevolent William Penn ! The war against the 
savages was now prosecuted with vigor by General Gage, 
who sent several regiments of British troops into the 
western country and destroyed their towns. In Novem- 
ber, Colonel Bouquet had reduced them to a humiliating 
submission. The Delawares, Shawanese, and other tribes 
delivered up, at Fort Pitt and other points, three hundred 
prisoners, most of whom were women and children. 

The Christian- Indians at Wyalusing continued to 
increase, and, in 1767, erected a large and convenient 
church, with a cupola and bell. This bell was the first 
that ever sounded over the waters of the North Susque- 
hanna, In 1769, they made an additional settlement at 
Sheshequin, thirty miles above Wyalusing; but the 
whites beginning to crowd into Wyoming and along the 
river, the Indians became dissatisfied vsdth their location. 
With Zeisberger at their head they departed, in 1772, 
for the west, and were united to the Moravian Mission 
on the Muskingum, 

Thus they passed away before the fraud and the vio- 
lence of the white man. Less than a century sufficed to 
deprive them of their wide domain on the Delaware and 
Susquehanna. They were driven from their homes, from 
the graves of their fathers, from all they held dear, by 
intruders, who took advantage of their simplicity, and 
induced them to bargain away their all, and when they 
were unwilling to be so defrauded, they w^ere compelled 
to yield to the skill and force of the superior race. 



CHAPTER II. 
THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 

The kings of England, in the sixteenth and seven- 
teenth centuries, had a very imperfect knowledge of their 
vast and magnificent dominions in North America. They 
granted with a lavish hand large tracts of country to 
companies, favorites, and crown creditors, without reflec- 
tion as to the probable future of the New World, or the 
probable consequences of the grants they made. Had the 
wording of these grants been more precise, and the de- 
scriptions of the boundaries intelligible and consistent, 
much angry discussion and civil strife would have been 
avoided. New York disputed with Connecticut in refer- 
ence to their common boundary. Pennsylvania settled 
with difficulty her southern boundary with Maryland, 
contended twenty years with Virginia for her western 
limits, and was driven into violence and bloodshed, with 
people claiming under Connecticut, for her northern terri- 
tory. We purpose to give some account of this last dis- 
pute in reference to Northern Pennsylvania. 

In 1620, King James I. granted to the Plymouth 
Company a charter for the ruling and governing of New 
England in America. In 1628, the Plymouth Company 
granted to the Massachusetts colony their territory. In 
1631, the president of the Plymouth Company granted 
a large tract of land to Lord Say and Seal, Lord 
Brook, and others, which was purchased by the Colony 

(58) 



THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 59 



of Connecticut. These charters or grants made the South 
Sea their western boundary. April 20th, 1662, King 
Charles II. renewed and confirmed this charter to the 
Connecticut colony, and distinctly recognised it as a part 
and parcel of the old grant of 1620 by James I. to the 
Plymouth Company. Nineteen years after this, on the 
4th of March, 1681, this same King Charles granted by 
his letters-patent to William Penn, his heirs and assigns, 
all that tract of land lying between a point on the south, 
twelve miles north of New Castle, and a line on the 
north, dividing the forty-second and forty- third degrees 
of north latitude, and extending westward five degrees 
of longitude from the Delaware river. Thus a tract of 
country, extending from north to south a whole degree 
of latitude, and from east to west five degrees of longi- 
tude, was granted to the Connecticut Colony in 1662, and 
to William Penn in 1681. Both grantees claimed the 
land under their respective charters. But in addition to 
a charter two other things were requisite in order to 
make a valid title — purchase of the soil from the Indians, 
and possession. William Penn, and the succeeding pro- 
prietaries, purchased various tracts of land from the 
Indians, and obtained deeds for the same. And particu- 
larly by a deed, dated October 11th, 1736, Thomas Penn 
and William Penn purchased of the Indians the full and 
absolute right of pre-emption of and in all lands lying 
within the limits of the charter to William Penn. Also, 
on the 9th of July, 1754, nine Indian chiefs signed a 
deed of promise at Albany, " never to sell any lands in 
Pennsylvania as the same is bounded by New York, 
except to the proprietaries." November 5th, 1768, the 
proprietaries of Pennsylvania procured a deed from the 
Six Nations, at Fort Stanwix, for all the lands not pre- 
viously sold to the proprietaries lying within the province 



60 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



of Pennsylvania. In January, 1769, Stewart, Ogden, and 
Jennings, on behalf of the proprietary government, took 
possession of the Susquehanna lands, settling at the mouth 
of Mill Creek, about one mile above the present town of 
Wilkesbarre. Thus the three essentials — a charter, pur- 
chase, and possession — were made and obtained on the 
part of the Pennsylvania government, at the times above 
mentioned. On the other hand, the Connecticut claim 
was based on a charter nineteen years older than that to 
Penn. As to the second requisite, we find that eight 
hundred and forty persons, many of them leading men 
of Connecticut, united in the year 1753, under the title 
of the " Connecticut Susquehanna Company," with a view 
to purchase the Indian title to the lands on the Susque- 
hanna. A deed of purchase was made by this company 
from the Indians at Albany, dated July 11th, 1754, 
during the meeting of a Congress of Delegates from a 
number of the colonies, which purchase included the 
Wyoming Valley. In 1755, the existence and claims of 
this company were recognised and acquiesced in by the 
Assembly of Connecticut. 

When the Susquehanna Company was organized in 
1753, John Jenkins, as surveyor of the company, and 
some others, were sent out to explore the contemplated 
territory, and establish friendly intercourse with the 
Indians. Again in 1755, John Jenkins and Ezekiel 
Hyde, with their associates, explored more fully the 
newly-purchased territory. On account of the French 
war, and the hostile attitude of the Indians, it was not 
deemed advisable to commence a settlement then. But 
in August, 1762, John Jenkins, William Buck, and others, 
members of the compan}'', entered upon, and took posses- 
sion of, the Susquehanna lands, in the Wyoming Valley. 
They erected several small log-houses at the mouth of 



THE PENjSTAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 61 



Mill Creek, sowed a considerable quantity of grain, and 
returned to Connecticut. In the spring of 1763 they 
returned to Wyoming, and erected other buildings a short 
distance below the present site of Wilkesbarre, but on 
the 15th of October following they were driven away, 
some being cruelly butchered, it is believed, by the Six 
Nations.* No more settlers came from New England 
until February 8th, 1769, when a body of Connecticut 
Yankees appeared on the ground, only a few days after 
the arrival of Stewart, Ogden, and Jennings, on the part 
of the proprietary government. 

In deciding between the two governments which is the 
better title, it may be stated as an additional fact, that 
on the 30th of November, 1664, his Majesty's Commis- 
sioners appointed "to decide the bounds betwixt his 
Highness the Duke of York and Connecticut charter," 
with the approbation and assent of the agents of the Con- 
necticut colony, fixed a line east of the Hudson river, to 
he the western hounds of the said colony of Connecticut. 
And again, in 1683, the Commissioners of Connecticut 
with the Governor of New York fixed upon a new line, 
which constitutes the present limits between Connecticut 
and New York, and it was declared that the line fixed 
upon " shall be the western bounds of the said colony of 
Connecticut." Notwithstanding this, Connecticut claimed 
that she had a right to overleap the province of New 
York, and resume her ancient boundary. Thus the 
southern line of her claim, which she contended was the 
proper northern boundary of Pennsylvania, would cross 
the Delaware, pass through Stroudsburg, and through 
Oonyngham in Luzerne county, and cut the Catawissa 



* For an account of this massacre see Chapter III., Captain Lazarus 
Stewart ; and for names of settlers see Appendix, A. 



62 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Railroad at Rupert Station, passing westward. The 
tongues and pens of some of the ablest men, both in Eng- 
land and in America, were employed in the discussion of 
the question at issue between Pennsylvania and Connec- 
ticut. It is evident that much mio-ht be said on both 
sides in support of their respective claims. However, in 
the year 1782, five Commissioners appointed by Congress, 
agreeably to the ninth article of Confederation, met at 
Trenton, to decide the dispute between Pennsylvania and 
Connecticut, in reference to these lands. After forty-one 
days of patient hearing and investigation, in which both 
parties were fully heard, on the 30th day of December, 
1782, the Commissioners gave their decision in these 
words : — 

" We are unanimously of opinion that Connecticut has 
no right to the lands in controversy. 

" We are also unanimously of opinion that the jurisdic- 
tion and pre-emption of all the territory lying within the 
charter of Pennsylvania, and now claimed by the state 
of Connecticut, do of right belong to the state of Penn- 
sylvania." 

It will be observed that simply the question of juris- 
diction and pre-emption was decided by this court. The 
question of the right of soil did not come before the court, 
and therefore the settlers had not been notified to appear 
and defend. 

The state of Connecticut now, with becoming grace, 
submitted to the decision at Trenton ; but the settlers, 
who had for thirteen years maintained a fierce struggle 
for possession, still obstinately contested the claim of 
Pennsylvania to the right of soil. 

We go back now to the date when the Susquehanna 
Company resumed their possession of the disputed lands, 
which possession had not lapsed, but had been discon- 



THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 03 



tinned for a season, in compliance with an inhibition of 
his Majest}'^, in 1763, to the effect, that all settlements 
of lands adjoining the Indian territory should cease, until 
precautions in pursuance of his Majesty's orders should 
be adopted for quieting the troubles with the Indians. 
The treaty at Fort Stanwix, in 1768, had settled the 
difficulties with the Indians. Accordingly, in that same 
year, on the 28th of December, the Susquehanna Com- 
pany held a meeting at Hartford, Connecticut, to make 
preliminary arrangements for settling the Wyoming lands. 

It was resolved that five townships, each five miles 
square, should be granted to two hundred settlers : that 
forty settlers should set out without delay, and the re- 
mainder in the following spring. The five townships 
decreed to be laid out, were afterwards named Plymouth, 
Kingston, Hanover, Wilkesbarre, and Pittston. It is 
pleasing to observe that three whole rights, or shares, in 
each township were reserved for the support of religion 
and of schools. The first forty who came out were to 
have the first choice of one of the townships, and to be- 
come proprietors on condition of actual settlement, and 
of defending themselves and the soil against rival 
claimants. 

On the part of the proprietary government Charles 
Stewart, a surveyor. Captain Amos Ogden, and John 
Jennings, sheriff of Northampton county, were commis- 
sioned to lay out two manors, one on the west side of the 
Susquehanna, to be called the Manor of Sunbury, and 
one on the east side, the Manor of Stoke. The governor 
gave to each of these gentlemen a lease for one hundred 
acres of land, for seven years, on condition that they esta- 
blished an Indian trading-house, and defended the soil 
against all intruders. He also directed them to encourage 
the speedy settlement of the manors, and to lease the 



64 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



same to settlers, stipulating for the payment of the 
ainiual rent of one ear of corn, and {he defence of the 
soil against encroachment. 

It will be observed in this contest, that on one side 
were many proprietors, claiming the right of soil as vested 
in themselves ; and on the other, was one great landlord, 
who claimed the entire country, and who waged war for 
possession with hirelings, who had at best a mere lease of 
the land. The masses of the people of any country would 
naturally sympathize with the former, without inquiring 
into the nice question of title by charter of ancient date. 
Hence we find even the people of Pennsylvania reluctant 
to support the proprietary government in its onslaughts on 
the Connecticut settlers. Indeed many openly, and more 
secretly, gave them aid and comfort in their enterprise. 

We have before stated that, in January, 1769, the par- 
tisans of the proprietary government located themselves 
at the mouth of Mill Creek. They took possession of the 
buildings which had been erected by the Connecticut 
settlers, who, in 1763, were murdered and driven away 
by the Indians. When, in the next month, the forty* 
arrived, under the auspices of the Susquehanna Company, 
finding the Pennamites in possession of the homes they 
had expected to occupy, they erected a small block-house 
in Kingston, across the river. This was afterwards en- 
larged, and called Forty Fort. In a short time it was 
resolved to drive away the intruders, Ogden and Jennings, 
from Mill Creek. They accordingly surrounded Ogden's 
block-house, and demanded its surrender in the name of 
Connecticut. Ogden requested a conference, and Messrs. 
Elderkin, Tripp, and Follett were sent to his quarters 
for that purpose. But they had no sooner entered his 
presence than the}^ were arrested by sheriff Jennings, in 

* For names, see Appendix, B. 



THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAK. 65 



the name of Pennsylvania, and conducted to Easton jail, 
accompanied by their thirty-seven associates. This ready 
submission on the part of the Connecticut men, can be 
explained only by their profound, almost superstitious 
respect for civil ^^rocess in conformity to law. That men 
resolved on force and violence should be suddenly sub- 
dued and taken captive by the exhibition of a writ in 
the hands of a single man, is to us a matter of some sur- 
prise. The captives were shut up in jail at Easton, but 
were almost immediately liberated on bail (Wm. L. Ledley, 
bailor), when they returned to the valley, fully bent on the 
prosecution of their enterprise. In a few days Ogden and 
Jennings returned with a large force, and arresting thirty- 
one of the Yankees conveyed them to Easton, where, as 
before, they were permitted to go free on bail. They 
again returned to the disputed ground. In April, they 
were joined by one hundred and sixty others* from New 
England, being the rest of the two hundred which the 
company had resolved to send out. They at once pro- 
ceeded to erect a new fortification, to which they gave 
the name of Fort Durkee, in honor of the gentleman who 
was chosen to command them. This fort was located 
near the south-west boundary of the present borough 
of Wilkesbarre, on the river bank. They also put up a 
number of small log-houses. 

On the 24th of May, Jennings and Ogden, with a 
number of others, arrived in the valley, and finding the 
Yankees too strongly entrenched to be attacked by them, 
returned to Easton, and made report of the state of affairs 
to the governor. The Susquehanna Company now con- 
sidered this a favorable opportunity to open negotiations 
with the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania. Colonel Dyer and 

* For names, see Appendix, B. 



66 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Major Elderkin were sent with full powers to Philadelphia 
to adjust all matters in dispute relative to the Wyo- 
ming Lands. This attempt at a peaceful settlement of the 
question failed. On the 24th of June, an armed force, 
under the command of Colonel Francis, appeared before 
Fort Durkee, and demanded a surender. The demand was 
refused, and as the Connecticut men were too strongly 
fortified to justify an attack with his small force, Colonel 
Francis withdrew. Governor Penn, learning from Colonel 
Francis the condition of things, sent instructions to Jen- 
nings, sheriff of Northampton county, to raise a large 
force, sufficient to oust the Yankees ; yet, if possible, 
without bloodshed. When Ogden heard that Jennings 
was coming, he with a party of forty or fifty men sud- 
denly attacked the houses of some of the settlers, and took 
a few prisoners, among whom was Major John Durkee, 
commander of the garrison. Major Durkee was taken to 
prison at Philadelphia. In September, Sheriff Jennings 
appeared on the ground with two hundred men, and was 
gratified to learn that Captain Alexander Patterson, one 
of Ogden's subordinates, had brought up from Fort 
Augusta (Sunbury) an iron four-pounder to render the 
siege more effective. The settlers were utterly appalled 
by this display of force, and by the loss of their com- 
mander. They agreed to surrender, and articles of 
capitulation were drawn. It was stipulated as follows : — 

1st. That Simon Draper, Daniel Gore, Asa Ludington, 
and Thomas Bennet should be delivered up as prisoners. 

2d. That seventeen men should remain and gather 
the fall crops, and that all the other men, women, and 
children should depart for Connecticut. 

3d. That private property should be respected. 

The sufferings of these people on their journey through 
the wilderness to the East were of the most distressing 



THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 67 



nature. One woman, says Mr. Chapman, roasted and fed 
her dead child to her surviving children to keep them alive. 
After the departure of the fugitives. Captain Ogden viola- 
ted the terms of the capitulation, to his disgrace as a man 
and as a soldier. He seized upon the horses, cattle, 
swine, &c., and, carrying them to the adjacent settlements, 
sold them for the benefit of himself and subordinates. 
The seventeen left to gather the crops, being deprived of 
all means of subsistence, were compelled to follow their 
companions to New England. Leaving ten or fifteen 
men to garrison the fort, Jennings and Ogden departed 
to the country below the Blue Ridge with their half-civil 
and half-military force, where it was disbanded. Such 
were the events of the strife for the possession of "Wyoming 
during the year 1769. 

For four months the valley remained in the undisturbed 
possession of the Pennamites. It was at this time that 
Captain Lazarus Stewart, James Stewart, William Stew- 
art, Lazarus Stewart 2d, Lazarus Young, Matthias Hol- 
lenback, John Donnahew, Josiah Espy, and several others 
from Lancaster county. Pa,, who had no love for Governor 
Penn and the proprietary government, determined to 
make an arrangement with the Susquehanna Company, 
and to unite their fortunes with the Yankees. Li the 
beginning of February, 1770, Captain Lazarus Stewart, 
at the head of forty Paxton Rangers and ten New England 
men, attacked Fort Durkee, and compelled the garrison 
to surrender. Stewart immediately afterwards proceeded 
to Fort Ogden, at Mill Creek, and removed the cannon, 
with the other munitions of war, to Fort Durkee. When 
Captain Ogden, who was at Philadelphia, heard what 
had taken place, he was greatly astonished and vexed 
that all his labors and victories should in so short a space 
of time be brought to nought. But, hastily collecting a 



(J8 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



body of men, he returned to Wyoming, and took up his 
quarters at Mill Creek. By this time Major Durkee had 
returned from prison, and had joined Stewart at the fort. 
These two commanders now, with drums beating and 
colors flying, marched forth to attack Ogden. A smart 
skirmish ensued, in which William Stager was killed, 
and one or two others wounded. This was the first blood 
shed in the Pennamite and Yankee war. 

This attack failed of success. The cannon was next 
transported to the western side of the river, where it was 
placed in a block-house erected for the purpose, and a 
heavy fire opened on Fort Ogden. The firing was kept 
up for several days without effect, when the cannon was 
brought back to the eastern shore, and it was resolved to 
boldly march out and invest the enemy's works. In the 
attack, a storehouse adjoining the fort, of great import 
ance to the Pennsylvanians, was fired and consumed 
The siege was vigorously prosecuted, and Captain Ogden 
was forced to surrender. Articles of capitulation were 
signed on the 29 th of April, and Ogden and his men, 
except six left to take care of his property, departed the 
valley. But remembering Ogden's violation of good fixith 
in the preceding September, the Yankees proceeded to 
eject the six men, and setting fire to the fort and houses, 
reduced them to ashes. 

Governor John Penn now applied to General Gage, at 
New York, for British regulars, to drive the Yankees from 
his lands. But the general refused the desired aid, stating 
that it would be highly improper for the king's troops to 
interfere in a dispute concerning property. 

In May, to the great joy of those already there, Colonel 
Zebulon Butler, with a considerable number of settlers, ar- 
rived from Connecticut. There was now peace in the land. 
They sowed, they planted, they formed new settlements. 



THE PENN AMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 69 



The spring passed away. The summer followed, and still 
no foe was upon them. Nevertheless, they could not but 
feel anxious for the future, for on the 28th of June the 
Governor of Pennsylvania had issued his proclamation, 
denouncing the severest penalties on all who might settle 
on the disputed lands, unless by his authority or that of 
his lessees. The evil hour was at hand. In September 
Ogden, with one hundred and forty men, quietly entered 
the valley, and arrested several of the settlers while at 
work in the fields. Those in the fort, learning the enemy 
were near, were thrown into the utmost confusion, and 
while paralyzed with doubt and consternation, an attack 
was made, and the fort carried by storm- Colonel But- 
ler, Mr. Spaulding, and some other leading men, were 
sent prisoners to Philadelphia, and those of less note were 
confined in the jail at Eastoh. The gallant Ogden again 
retired from Wyoming, leaving behind a small garrison 
of twenty men to hold the fort, and possession of the 
valley. But, alas ! the uncertainty of human affairs ! 
On the night of the 18th of December Captain Lazarus 
Stewart, at the head of thirty men, with a startling 
" hurrah for King George !" broke into the fort, drove out 
the half-awake, half-naked garrison, and took possession 
in the name of Connecticut. The news spreads far and 
near, and the year 1770 closes on Captain Ogden in a 
state of bewildering amazement at the audacity and un- 
tiring energy of his enemies. 

The year 1771 opens with vigorous efforts on the part 
of the proprietary government to prosecute the war. 
Although the severities of winter were upon them, yet, 
in thirty days after the expulsion of his friends, Ogden 
appeared before Fort Durkee with one hundred men. He 
was accompanied by Sheriff Hacklien, of Northampton 
county, who bore a warrant, issued by Judge Willing, for 



70 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



the apprehension of Lazarus Stewart. As the defenses 
of Mill Creek had been destroyed. Captain Ogden resolved 
to erect a new fortification nearer Fort Durkee. To this 
he gave the name of Fort Wyoming, which stood on the 
river bank, near the western terminus of Northampton 
street, Wilkesbarre. To Sheriff Hacklien's* demand to 
surrender, Captain Stewart returned an emphatic nega- 
tive. The only alternative now was a resort to arms. 
On the 20th of January, 1771, Ogden made an attack 
with his force on Fort Durkee, which was located about 
sixty rods below his own fort, Wyoming. 

In the conflict which ensued, Nathan Ogden, the cap- 
tain's brother, was killed, while a considerable number 
were wounded. The besieging party, repulsed for the 
present, and disconcerted by their ill-luck, returned to 
their fortification. That night, Stewart, and twenty-six 
of his men, resolved to withdraw from Fort Durkee. lie 
well knew the deep irritation of the proprietary govern- 
ment against him, and he was aware that if captured he 
must either die or linger out a sad existence in a dun- 
geon. The morning following his retreat the gai'rison 
surrendered, and the sheriff returned to Easton with his 
prisoners. Captain Ogden heretofore had appeared to 
consider every repulse and surrender of the Connecticut 
party as its final overthrow and complete destruction ; 
and, acting on this impression, had uniformly retired to 
Philadelphia to repose on his laurels and enjoy the adu- 
lations and festivities of the city. He now adopted a 
different policy. He remained with his forces in the 
valley, and applied himself by every means in his power 
to strengthen his defenses. He brought to bear, on the 
wants and peculiarities of his position, all the vigilance 
and energy of his character. For two months he was 
undisturbed, but in April following, Captains Butler and 



THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 71 



Stewart, at tlie head of a hundred and fifty men, entered 
the valley and laid siege to Fort Wyoming. Ogden was 
closely invested, and the siege vigorously pressed, so that no 
one conld venture out for food, fuel, or water without great 
danger. It was evident that, without succor, he must soon 
surrender ; .if for no other reason, for want of provisions. 
He, himself, undertook the dangerous task of leaving the 
fort by night to convey intelligence of his situation to his 
friends in Philadelphia. He accomplished it by an act 
of consummate stratagem. He tied up his clothes in a 
bundle on which he placed his hat. This was attached 
to a cord, and taking hold of the other end he committed 
himself and bundle to the water, and floated down the 
river, his clothes following him. The sentinels, by the 
starlight, observed the floating object, and riddled the 
bundle with balls, but as the object continued on its 
course with a uniform motion, the firing ceased. Ogden 
escaped to the bank unharmed, dressed himself, and, 
travelling forty miles a day, was soon in Philadelphia 
with the unpleasant tidings of the situation of Fort 
Wyoming. As the news spread through the city the 
excitement was great and general. Prompt action was 
taken, and 300 pounds were drawn from the treasury for 
supplies. Captain Dick started for Wyoming with a 
strong convoy of provisions. Captain Morris followed 
with the least delay possible. Butler and Stewart were 
on the alert. They doubted not forces and supplies were 
approaching, because they had been made aware of the 
escape of Ogden. The spies at length brought word that 
Dick and Ogden were near at hand. An ambush was 
laid. The pack-horses with the provisions were cap- 
tured, while the men of the escort escaped into the fort 
to help to eat up the scanty remnants of the food within. 
Butler now exerted every nerve to capture the fort before 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



the arrival of reinforcements. It was necessary to make 
a more fatal use of their arms. To starve out the gar- 
rison without shedding blood was no longer thought of. 
Some of the garrison were slain, others wounded : Ogden 
himself among the latter. Surrender became impera- 
tive. On the 14th of August, articles of caj^itulation 
were signed to the effect, that all the Pennsylvania 
troops should leave the valley, twenty-three only retir- 
ing with arras in their hands — men with families might 
remain on the ground for two weeks, and should have 
the privilege of retaining their effects — the sick and 
wounded should keep their nurses, and should have 
leave to send for a physician. Zebulon Butler, Lazarus 
Stewart, and John Smith signed on behalf of the Yan- 
kees, and Asher Clayton, Joseph Morris, and John Dick, 
on the part of the proprietary government. The Con- 
necticut settlers now poured into the valley in great 
numbers, for it began to be perceived that the Yankee 
cause would triumph. About this time the troubles with 
the mother country were beginning to darken the land, 
and the proprietary government, unsupported by the peo- 
ple, withdrew all their forces and left the settlers from 
the east in undisturbed possession of the lovely valley. 

Up to the year 1772, it may be said there was no 
established discipline in Wyoming, no form of govern- 
ment, no law. Each individual acted as his own sense 
of propriety, or his notion of right, might dictate. Even 
the salutary influence of woman, exercised over man in 
civilized society, was wanting. In May, 1772, there were 
only five women in Wilkesbarre township. But in this 
year quite a number of settlers went east for tlieir fami- 
lies. Lands were surveyed and assigned to claimants, 
and block-houses were erected on both sides of the river. 
Many new faces appeared in the settlement, men gatheied 



THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 



their relatives about them, and marriages were celebrated. 
The township of Wilkesbarre was surveyed in the year 
1770 by David Meade, and within its limits the struggles 
for possession of the valley mostly took place. The union 
of the names of John Wilkes, Esq., and of Colonel Barre, 
two Englishmen, the latter a brave and accomplished 
soldier, well known in America, and both celebrated 
as distinguished advocates of the rights of the colonies 
against the encroachments of the crown, formed the 
name Wilhesharre. But the village, or borough of Wilkes- 
barre, was not laid out until 1772. This was the work 
of Colonel Durkee, who formed the town plot on grounds 
immediately adjoining Fort Wyoming, which, as has 
been already stated, was situated on the river bank near 
Northampton street. During that year, the people were 
so busily engaged in preparing to live that there was no 
time to think of a regular form of government. When 
difficulties arose in respect to land rights, the dispute 
was decided by town committees. Those were halcyon 
days, for there was order without law, and peace without 
the constable — that was the golden age of Wyoming. 
Ferries and mills were provided for the people, and 
finally, towards the close of this year, as soon as practi- 
cable, that is, December 11th, 1772, provisions were 
made for the permanent support of the gospel and of 
schools. Nor was there an exhibition of religious into- 
lerance, but the views and feelings of the Baptists were 
consulted by the Presbyterians, who formed much the 
larger body. At length as the population increased, and 
the interests of the community became, in some degree, 
conflicting, it was deemed necessary by the Susquehanna 
Company, on the 2d day of June, 1773, at Hartford, 
Connecticut, to adopt a code of laws for the government 
of the settlement. This code punished crime, enforced 



74 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



order, provided for the election of directors, peace officers, 
and other officers who might be found necessary in every 
township. Every settler was required to subscribe his 
name to these regulations, to abide by and to supjDort the 
same. All males of the age of twenty-one years and 
upwards were allowed a voice in the elections. 

It may be noted here that at an early period, even 
before the code of laws was enacted by the Susquehanna 
Company, the settlers resolved that any person who sold 
liquor to an Indian should forfeit his goods and be ex- 
pelled the colony. But it is probable this order was 
never observed, for at first, after 1763, there were but 
few straggling Indians in the valley, and these were 
mostly Christians connected with the Moravian Society. 
And in a short time almost the entire body of settlers 
became drinkers. Whiskey and rum were consumed in 
astonishing quantities. At that day ardent spirits could 
be procured in their purity, and as the people were hard 
workers, and much exposed in the open air, they came to 
be considered as articles of prime necessity. The effects 
of their use were wholly different from those produced on 
the people of our day, by the soul and body destroying 
mixtures of alcohol and strychnine, and other poisons. 

In October, 1773, the General Assembly of Connecticut 
attempted to open negotiations with the Pennsylvania 
authorities, with a view to the amicable settlement of 
the dispute pending in reference to the Wj'oming lands. 
But the governor and council on behalf of Pennsylvania, 
alleging the total absence of right on the part of Connec- 
ticut, declined every proposition which the commissioners 
of the colony advanced. The General Assembly of Con- 
necticut then, on learning the refusal of the authorities 
of Pennsylvania to come to any terms, proceeded to 
exercise those acts of sovereignty which she conceived 



THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 



belonged to her. lu January, 1774, all the territory 
within her charter limits, from the Delaware to a line 
fifteen miles west of the Susquehanna, was erected into a 
town, called Westmoreland, and attached to the county 
of Litchfield. Westmoreland was about seventy miles 
square, embracing nearly five thousand square miles. 
Within it were numerous townships, divided into lots, 
which were sold to purchasers, or were drawn for by 
proprietors. The governor of Connecticut issued his pro- 
clamation, forbidding an}- settlement in Westmoreland, 
except under authority from Connecticut. About the 
same time the governor of Pennsylvania issued his pro- 
clamation, prohibiting all persons from settling on the 
disputed lands, except under the authority of the Proprie- 
taries. Zebulon Butler and Nathan Denison were com- 
missioned under Connecticut as justices of the peace, with 
authority .to organize the town. In March, 1774, the 
whole people of Westmoreland, being legally warned, 
met and organized the town, and chose selectmen, a 
treasurer, constables collectors of taxes, surveyors of 
highways, fence viewers, listers, leather sealers, grand 
jurors, ty thing men, sealers of weights and measures, 
and key-keepers. Eight town meetings were held in the 
year 1774. The government was of the most democratic 
character. It cannot be supposed that the whole male 
population entitled to vote turned out at every meeting, 
for the number of people in Westmoreland this year was 
found to be 1922. 

As earl}^ as 1771 two townships on the West Branch, 
including the lands on which the present village of Muncy 
stands, were surveyed under the auspices of the Susque- 
hanna Company. The names of these townships were 
Charleston and Judea. In June, 1772, there were a few 
settlers there from the East, but not numerous enough to 



76 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



attract the attention of the proprietary government. The 
Act of January, 1774, erecting Westmoreland Town, did 
not embrace these two townships within its provisions. 
But in May, 1775, an act was passed by the General 
Assembly of Connecticut, which included Charleston and 
Judea in the town of Westmoreland, and John Vincent, 
a resident on the West Branch, was appointed a justice 
of the peace for the county of Litchfield. Vincent and 
others succeeded in persuading between eighty and ninety 
persons to emigrate from Wyoming, and settle in these 
western townships. This act of Connecticut seems to 
have roused the provincial authorities of Pennsylvania 
to check the encroachments of the Susquehanna Com- 
pany, and to make another attempt to recover the di.s- 
puted territory. 

In September, 1775, immediately after the arrival of 
Justice Vincent and his company. Colonel William Plun- 
ket, at the head of five hundred Northumberland militia, 
marched up the West Branch, and utterly destroyed the 
settlements at Muncy. One man was killed, the rest 
taken prisoners to Sunbury jail, while the women and 
children were sent to Wyoming. This success greatly 
elated the governor of Pennsylvania, as well as the 
Colonel and the troops who had achieved the triumph. 
So much were they rejoiced at the victory, that, forgetful 
of the dictates of prudence, and regardless of all other 
considerations, it was resolved to make an immediate 
attack on Wyoming, and drive off the settlers there also. 
Even the influence of Congress was unavailing to induce 
an abandonment of the enterprise until the difficulties 
with Great Britain should be adjusted. By great activity 
and energy Colonel Plunket was prepared to march early 
in December of that year, with seven hundred men, a 
long train of boats, a field-piece, and an abundance of 



THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 77 



ammunition. He was accompanied by William Cook, 
Esq., high sheriff of Northumberland county, who bore 
a warrant for the arrest of certain offenders. After four 
years of peace the storm of war was again gathering over 
Wyoming. The people there, mindful of their early 
prowess and success, are in nowise disconcerted or dis- 
mayed b}^ this display of force against them. Gathering 
together their military strength, which numbered about 
three hundred men and boys, they go down to the southern 
entrance of the valley to meet the invaders. ' Plunket, 
flushed with his West Branch victory, is loud in his boast- 
ings as he passes the Nanticoke Falls, and moves into the 
valley. But the reception he met from Captain Butler, 
at the breast-work on the west side, and from Captain 
Lazarus Stewart, on the east side of the Susquehanna 
river, cooled his ardor and his courage. He began to see 
the folly of undertaking such an expedition in the depth 
of winter. Repulsed at every point, with dead and 
wounded men around him, and the weather beginning to 
grow severely cold, he retreated, and thus ended this ill- 
advised and rash undertaking. This was the last attempt 
of the proprietary government to secure the possession of 
the contested lands. The colonies were now in the midst 
of the Revolutionary contest, and in the following year 
declared themselves free and independent states. 

While these warlike preparations and deeds were trans- 
piring, Connecticut resolved that no further additions 
should be made to the settlement in Westmoreland, with- 
out special license from the General Assembly. This 
singular resolution can only be reasonably accounted for 
by supposing, that it was done either to quiet the fears 
of the proprietary government, or else with a view to keep 
at home her own citizens with their resources, at a time 
when the stern demands of war were making heavy drafts 



78 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



on her energies. In May, 1776, John Jenkins, Esq., and 
Captain Solomon Strong, were elected to the Legislature 
of Connecticut, and specially instructed to request the 
Assembly to demand of the Pennsylvania government 
four thousand pounds for losses sustained by Plunket's 
invasion. 

In the early part of this year it became manifest that 
the Six Nations of Indians were pledged to support the 
cause of Great Britain against the Colonies, and the most 
gloomy apprehensions were entertained by the people of 
Westmoreland, on whose borders and within whose limits 
many of these Indians had their homes, August, 1776, it 
was resolved to erect suitable forts, and the people were 
recommended to work on the same without fee or reward. 
Yet, notwithstanding the dangers which beset the settle- 
ment at home, a number of active and able-bodied men 
were enlisted for the army and marched ^ the head- 
quarters of General Washington. In addition to this. 
Congress, being fully apprised of the situation of West- 
moreland, August 26, 1776, elected Robert Durkee and 
Samuel Ransom captains of two companies which were 
ordered to be raised in Westmoreland, on the continental 
establishment, and to be stationed in proper places for 
the defence of the inhabitants of said town and parts 
adjacent. It must excite surprise when it is told that 
Congress, in December following, ordered these two com- 
panies to leave the valley and repair to the standard of 
Washington. They obeyed with patriotic devotion, but 
it jeopardized the safety of Westmoreland. Nothing but 
the critical situation of the commander-in-chief and of the 
common cause, can at all j^alliate the rashness, to call it 
by no other name, of this order. 

On the 26th of September of this year the provincial 
government of Pennsylvania expired, and shortly after, 



THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 



on the convening of the General Assembly under her first 
constitution, with a population of 300,000, she assumed 
the powers of a sovereign state. About this time the 
General Assembly of Connecticut erected Westmoreland 
into a county, and Jonathan Fitch, Esq., received the 
first commission as high sheriff. 

Quite a number of persons, in this, as well as in the 
following year, 1777, came into the valley holding a 
Pennsylvania title, and denouncing the Connecticut claim 
as valueless. Besides these, were some tories who came 
as spies, and who held communication with the British 
and Indians, giving them information of the state of 
affairs, and of the most opportune time for striking a 
deadly blow. They were, of course, objects of suspicion, 
and some M^ere expelled for their indiscreet words, or 
treasonable conduct. But in the midst of dangers from 
abroad, and at home, and though the small-pox was 
ravaging the settlement, the people slackened none of 
their energies to improve their condition. A county 
seat was selected, the county officers appointed, state, 
county, and toMai taxes levied, and paid and free schools 
were opened and supported. The assessment of estates 
for the county of Westmoreland for 1777 exceeded twenty 
thousand pounds, and the state tax exceeded two thou- 
sand pounds. 

From Plunket's battle, until 1782, was a period of 
six years. During that time the whole valley had been 
devastated by fire and sword. The Massacre of Wyoming 
had of itself caused the death of upwards of two hundred 
settlers, and the Indians had at various periods stealthily 
murdered at least a hundred more. The details of these 
losses and murders are recorded in other portions of this 
work. The settlers, now war-worn and miserably poor, 
found themselves driven to contend against the whole 



80 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



power of Pennsylvania ; for, as before stated, the state 
of Connecticut had withdrawn all claim to jurisdiction 
after the Trenton Decree. They petitioned the General 
Assembly of Pennsylvania for their rights. "We have 
settled a country," said they, "which in its original state 
of but little value, but now cultivated by your memorial- 
ists, is to them of the greatest importance, being their all. 
We are yet alive, but the richest blood of our neighbors 
and friends, children, husbands, and fathers, has been 
spilt in the general cause of their country, and we have 
suffered every danger this side death. We supplied the 
continental army with many valuable officers and soldiers, 
and left ourselves weak and unguarded against the attack 
of the savages, and of others of a more savage nature. Our 
houses are desolate, many mothers are childless, widows 
and orphans are multiplied, our habitations are destroyed, 
and many families are reduced to beggary." Notwith- 
standing, as soon as the continental troops were with- 
drawn from Wyoming, where they had been placed for 
the protection of the people against the savages, Ca23tains 
Robinson and Shrawder, with two companies of Pennsyl- 
vania troops, marched and took possession of Fort Wyo- 
ming, which they named Fort Dickinson. Shortly after, 
the General Assembly of Pennsylvania, in pursuance of 
the petition of the settlers, appointed Joseph Montgomery, 
William Montgomery, and Moses McClean, commissioners, 
with instructions to repair to Wyoming and compromise 
the dispute between them and the Commonwealth. They 
arrived in the valley in April, 1783, and immediately a 
spirited correspondence took place between them and 
John Jenkins, Nathan Denison, Obadiah Gore, and 
Samuel Shepherd, the committee on the part of the set- 
tlers. The issue of this was that the state commissioners 
reported to the Assembly, recommending " that a reasona- 



THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 81 



ble compensation in land in the western part of the state 
should be made to the families of those who had fallen 
in arms against the common enemy, and to such other 
settlers as had a proper Connecticut title, and did actuallj^ 
reside on the lands at the time of the decree at Trenton ; 
provided they immediately relinquished all claim to the 
soil where they now inhabited, and enter into contracts 
to deliver up full and quiet possession of- their present 
tenures to the rightful owners under Pennsylvania by the 
first of April next." This report evidently expressed the 
sentiments of Alexander Patterson, who had in charge 
the interests of the Pennsylvania settlers. Patterson had 
been in the employ of the Penn family, and had aided to 
arrest the Connecticut settlers in 1769. He was now a 
justice of the peace under Pennsylvania, and was settled 
in Wilkesbarre, whose name he endeavored to change to 
Londonderry. This notorious hater of the Yankees was 
the head and front of the Pennamite interest. He, with 
his associate justices, and backed by military force, under 
the command of Major James Moore, and Captains Shraw- 
der and Christie, commenced a series of contemptible and 
cowardly outrages upon the Yankee settlers. The soldiers 
were quartered upon the inhabitants. Colonel Zebulon 
Butler, who had just returned from the army, and who 
boldly denounced Patterson's conduct, was arrested and 
sent to Sunbury jail. But, as the proceedings had been 
illegal, he was released. 

Mr. Miner says, " October 31, the settlement Shawnee 
was invaded by the military, headed by the justice in 
person, and eleven respectable citizens arrested, and sent 
under guard to the fort. Among the prisoners w^as Major 
Prince Alden, sixty-five years old, feeble from age, and 
suffering from disease. Compassion yielded nothing to 

alleviate his sufferings. Captain James Bidlack was also 
6 



82 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



arrested. He was between sixty and seventy. His son, 
of the same name, had f^xllen, as previously recorded, at 
the head of his company in the Indian battle ; another 
son, Benjamin, had served in the army through the revo- 
lutionary war. Mr. B. himself had been taken by the 
savages, and suffered a tedious captivity in Canada. All 
this availed him nothing. Benjamin Harvey, who had 
been a prisoner to the Indians, was also arrested. Samuel 
Ransom, son of Captain Ransom, who fell in the mas- 
sacre, was most rudely treated on being taken. ' Ah ha !' 
cried Patterson, 'you are the jockey we wanted; away 
with him to the guardhouse, with Old Harvey, another 
damned rascal.' Eleven, in all. were taken and driven 
to the fort, where they were confined in a room with a 
mud floor, wet and comfortless, with no food and little 
fire, which as they were sitting round. Captain Christie 
came in, ordered them to lie down on the ground, and 
bade the guard to blow out the brains of any one who 
should attempt to rise. Even the staff of tlie aged Mr. 
Alden was taken from him." The men secure, Patterson 
turned their families out of doors, and placed Pennamite 
claimants in possession of their lands and houses. In 
many other cases the widows and orphan children of sol- 
diers, slain in battle in defence of liberty, were forced 
from their dwellings, and their few implements of agricul- 
ture were destroyed, or carried away, by order of the 
heartless and brutal Patterson. The settlers now (1784) 
petitioned Congress and the Assemblies of Pennsjdvania 
and Connecticut for redress of grievances, and the Penn- 
sylvania Assembly sent a committee to Wyoming to take 
depositions. These depositions were read before the 
Assembly, and although Patterson was severely denounced 
by many members, he was not removed or deprived of 
his authority. 



THE PENNA^IITE AND YANKEE WAR. 88 



On the 23d of January, 1784, moved by the petition 
of Zebulon Butler and others, Congress adopted measures 
for the settlement of the dispute, but on the remonstrance 
of Pennsylvania the proceedings were discontinued. On 
the 13th and 14th of May following. Major Patterson's 
soldiers dispossessed one hundred and fifty families, burnt 
several houses, and compelled five hundred men, women, 
and children to march through the wilderness to the Dela- 
ware river. Several children starved and died in the 
woods, and the sufferings of the whole impoverished 
throng, as they wandered night and day over rugged 
mountains and through deep swamps, were terrible be- 
yond description. Elisha Harding, who was one of this 
suffering multitude, says, "It was a solemn scene; parents, 
their children crying for hunger — aged men, on crutches 
— all urged forward by an armed force at our heels. The 
first night we encamped at Capouse ; the second at Cobb's ; 
the third at Little Meadow, so called. Cold, hungry, and 
drenched with rain, the poor women and children suffer- 
ing much. The fourth night at Lackawack; fifth, at 
Blooming Grove; sixth, at Shehola; on the seventh 
arrived at the Delaware, where the people dispersed, some 
going up and some down the river. I kept on east, and 
when I got to the top of Shongum Mountain I looked 
back with this thought : shall I abandon Wyoming for 
ever ? The reply was. No, oh no ! There lie your mur- 
dered brothers and friends. Dear to me art thou, though 
a land of affliction. Every way looked gloomy, except 
towards Wyoming. Poor, ragged, and distressed as I was, 
I had youth, health, and felt that my heart was whole. 
So I turned back to defend or die." 

These cruelties to the settlers excited sympathy 
throughout the whole country, and the companies of 
Shrawder and Christie were discharged by state autho- 



84 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



rity. But the inhuman Patterson re-enlisted many of 
the soldiers, and continued to perpetrate his hellish deeds 
in spite of instructions to the contrary. After an ab- 
sence of several weeks the Yankees returned and fortified 
themselves under a cliff of rock, on the Eastern or Wilkes- 
barre Mountain. This, Mr. Miner says, they called Fort 
Lillope, but we have in our possession several orders, 
sent by John Franklin, John Jenkins, and others, from 
this cave-fortress, to Matthias Hollenback, in Wilkes- 
barre, for rum, tea, sugar, &c., and these orders are dated 
at Fort Defence. From this fort three or four persons 
entered Wilkesbarre under, the promised protection of 
Patterson, who arrested and beat them with iron ram- 
rods. Franklin and Jenkins, now having no faith in the 
promises of anybody connected with Pennsylvania, re- 
moved in the month of July, with their associates, to 
Kingston. On the 20th of that month a company of 
thirty young men, marching to Plymouth, met a body of 
Patterson's men on Rosshill. A conflict ensued, and 
Elisha Garrett and Chester Pierce were slain. Several 
of Patterson's men were wounded, but none of them 
killed. Forty-two effective and twenty old men, now 
aroused to vengeance by this bloody deed, placed them- 
selves under the command of John Franklin. They first 
marched to Shawnee, and dispossessed the Pennamite 
families there, then crossing the river at Nanticoke, they 
drove off all from their dwellings on the east side, and 
compelled them to take refuge in the fort at Wilkesbarre. 
This fort Franklin's men proceeded to surround. Patter- 
son's troops made a sortie from the fort, and set fire to 
twenty-three buildings, which were consumed. Franklin 
continued to invest the fort, and demanded its surrender, 
which was refused. An engagement ensued, in which the 



THE PENN AMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 85 



Yankees were worsted, and deemed it prudent to retire 
to Kingston. 

Patterson and forty others were now indicted by the 
grand jury of Northumberland county, and Sherift' Antis 
was sent to arrest them. But Patterson and his asso- 
ciates saved themselves from arrest behind their threat- 
ening ramparts, and the sheriff was compelled to return 
without them. On the very day the sheriff attempted 
this arrest, Major Moore, who was returning from North- 
ampton county, where he had secured a number of 
recruits for the Pennsylvania cause, was met by Captain 
John Swift, at the head of thirty men, on Locust Hill. 
A conflict ensued. Jacob Everett, one of Moore's men, 
was killed, and several were wounded on both sides. 
Moore retired to Easton, while Swift marched back to 
Kingston. 

The next movement in this unhappy struggle was the 
appointment of Colonel John Armstrong, in conjunction 
with Hon. John Boyd, Commissioners, to restore peace to 
Wyoming. Boyd was a member, and Armstrong was the 
secretary, of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsyl- 
vania. This Colonel Armstrong was the author of the 
Newburg Letters, had been minister to Spain and France, 
and was secretary of war in 1812, under the administra- 
tion of President Madison. The commissioners arrived 
in the valley on the 8th of August, 1784. Three hun- 
dred infantry and fifteen horsemen were ordered to be 
placed at their disposal. They issued their proclamation 
declaring peace and good-will. They demanded a cessa- 
tion of strife, and the surrender of arms by both parties. 
The Yankees werfe fearful of treachery, and hesitated to 
accept the proffered mediation of the commissioners. But 
Armstrong pledged his honor as a man and as a soldier to 
respect his engagements, and make good his promises. 



86 A.NNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



The Yankees believed and laid down their arms, when 
they were immediately arrested. Captain Swift's company 
of men, who had defeated Moore at Locust Hill, were 
bound with cords and handcuffed. In this condition they 
were marched away to Easton jail.'-' Forty-two others 
were bound and sent to jail at Sunbury. Patterson's men 
were not disarmed. Armstrong then returned to Phila- 
delphia covered with infamy. 

The Sunbury prisoners were released on bail. The 
Easton prisoners procured their liberty through Edward 
Inman, a man of great physical strength, who knocked 
down the jailor, seized the keys, and liberated himself and 
comrades. Fifteen of them escaped to Wyoming, but 
eleven w^ere taken and confined in jail three months. An 
attempt was then made to indict them for the murder of 
Jacob Everett, who, as before stated, was killed at Locust 
Hill. The attempt, however, proved a failure, for the 
grand jury ignored the bill. No bills were found in 
Northumberland county against the prisoners sent thither 
by Armstrong. On the other hand, Patterson and Moore 
were both indicted, which shows that the people generally 
through Pennsylvania sympathized with the Connecticut 
settlers in their sufferings. 

In September, Armstrong returned to the valley with 
fifty men and arrested Franklin, Pierce, and Johnson, for 
treason, but they were never convicted. On the 29th 
of the same month, the Yankees, under Captain Swift, 
attacked a house which Patterson occupied as head- 
quarters. They set the building on fire, and two of his 
associates, Henderson and Read, in attempting to escape 
to the fort, were shot down. Captain Swift was severely 
wounded, but his loss did not in the least abate the ardor 

* For names of these prisoners, see Appendix, C. 



THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 87 



and efforts of his men, who spiritedly invested the Penna- 
mite garrison. In this conflict, Franklin was wounded 
in the wrist, Nathan Stevens was shot in the eye and 
died instantly, William Smith and one or two others 
were also killed, and finally, the Yankees were compelled 
to abandon the siege. 

By the constitution of Pennsylvania, established after 
the colonies had declared themselves free and independent 
states, in addition to the Supreme Executive Council and 
the House of Representatives, there existed a Council of 
Censors who assembled once in seven years. This body was 
elected by the people, and had power to send for persons 
and papers, and to examine into all questions respecting 
the rights of the people and the administration of justice. 
&c. After an examination, by the censors, of the 
Wj'oming difficulties, and after the refusal of the House 
of Representatives to furnish certain papers, in the 
autumn of 1784, they issued a declaration enumerating 
the wrongs committed against the Connecticut settlers, 
and severely censuring the Supreme Executive Council 
and the House of Representatives. These bodies, how- 
ever, disregarded the reproof of the censors, and prosecu- 
ted the unholy war. Armstrong was promoted to the 
position of a general, and at the head of one hundred 
armed men, on the 17th of October, 1784, again entered 
the valley. The day following, he attacked the Yankees, 
who had fortified themselves in four log-houses, placed in 
the form of a diamond, situated above Forty Fort. The 
contest lasted one hour, when Armstrong was compelled 
to retreat, having lost Captain Bolin, and having had three 
or four severely wounded. On the side of the Yankees, 
William Jackson was dangerously wounded, and as he 
lay bleeding, Captain Franklin seized his friend's bloody 
rifle and swore he would never lay down his arms until 



88 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



death should arrest his hand, or Patterson and Armstrong 
should be expelled from Wyoming. The next day, Arm- 
strong sent thirty of his men to gather the buckwheat on 
the Kingston flats, but the Yankees, stealthily encircling 
the workmen, carried away the grain, amounting to about 
one hundred bushels. 

At this juncture, the Assembly of Pennsylvania passed 
an act restoring the dispossessed Yankees to their lands, 
and recalling Armstrong and Patterson with the forces 
under their command. This was temporary relief The 
settlers at once set about the appointment of committees, 
to organize the militia, to provide for the punishment of 
offenders, &c. Franklin was elected colonel of the troops. 
A petition, signed by ninety-six men and women, setting 
forth their grievances and sufferings, and praying to be 
permitted to elect their own officers and to be protected 
in their rights, was sent to the Assembly at Philadelphia. 
John Jenkins was appointed to wait on the Assembly, 
and to secure the passage of a law for the final settlement 
of matters in dispute, and for the permanent establish- 
ment of the rights of the Connecticut settlers. These 
efforts proving of no avail, Franklin waited upon the 
session of Congress, and upon the Assembly of Connecti- 
cut, and endeavored to interest them in the wretched 
fate of the Wyoming people. He also made a bold effort 
to revive the slumbering energies of the Susquehanna 
Company, which, like Connecticut, had been stunned by 
the Trenton decree. In this he succeeded. In July, 
1785, the Company met and reaffirmed its rights in these 
disputed lands ; land was voted to recruits, called half- 
share rights ; committees were appointed, and extensive 
preparations were made. Franklin returned to Wyoming, 
held meetings, and addressed the people in the several 
townships, in regard to a new plan which had been settled 



THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR, 89 



upon. It remained for the people to carry it out. It 
had been determined to form a new state out of Northern 
Pennsylvania, The disputed territory was to be dismem- 
bered, and down-trodden Wyoming was to be set free 
from the thralldom of Pennsylvania. Wise heads at 
Philadelphia saw the gathering storm, and on the 24th 
of December following the Assembly of Pennsjdvania 
passed an " Act for quieting disturbances at Wyoming and 
pardoning certain offenders," This law required the Yan- 
kees to give bail for their good behavior, but gave them 
no security in return. It was consequently disregarded. 
In July, 1786, the Susquehanna Company held another 
meeting in Connecticut, and Colonel Franklin, Major Jen- 
kins, and General Ethan Allen, Colonel Butler and others, 
were appointed a committee to locate townships, to decide 
upon claims, &c. The ball set in motion by the bold and 
fearless Franklin was now being rolled onward by such 
men as Oliver Walcott, Joel Barlow, and General Ethan 
Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga. Stout hearts and heroes, 
who had braved the tempest of battle during the revolu- 
tion, and who sympathized with the widows and orjohans 
of their comrades in their sufferings and wrongs, were 
gathering at Wyoming, and the result could not be 
mistaken. The authorities of Pennsylvania saw at once 
that the infamous policy which they had pursued was 
fast leading to a dismemberment of the state, and that 
the time had arrived for other and prompt measures, A 
division in the ranks of the Yankees was determined 
upon, and the question arose. Who can accomplish it ? 

Timothy Pickering, a native of Massachusetts, and a 
man of distinguished ability, was at this time engaged in 
the practice of law in the city of Philadelphia. He was 
requested to visit Wyoming, and examine into the condi- 
tion of affairs there. This he did in August and Septem- 



QO ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



ber, 178G, and returning to Philadelphia, reported "that 
the Yankees were entirely satisfied with the constitution 
of Pennsylvania, and were ready to submit to its govern- 
ment, provided they could be quieted in the possession of 
their farms." A few daj-s after this report, September 
25th, 1786, the Act creating the county of Luzerne passed 
the Assembly, and Matthias Hollenback, Timothy Picker- 
ing, and others, were commissioned justices, with power 
to hold courts, &c. Pickering was also appointed protlio- 
nothary, clerk of the court, and register and recorder. 
Lord Butler was commissioned high sheriff. 

On the 27th of December following this event, the 
Susquehanna Compan}^ held a meeting at the State 
House, in Hartford, Conn., when measures were adopted 
prejDaratory to the organization of the new state. An 
executive committee of twenty-one persons, among whom 
appear the names of Oliver Walcott, Joel Barlow, Zebulon 
Butler, John Franklin, and John Jenkins, was appointed 
with full powers to organize the government. On the 
same day, at Philadelphia, the. Assembly of Pennsylvania 
passed a supplement to the Act creating Luzerne county, 
by which Timothy Pickering, Zebulon Butler, and John 
Franklin, were appointed to notify the electors of Luzerne 
county, that an election would be held there on the first 
day of February, 1787, for the election of one supreme 
councillor, one member of the House of Representatives, 
and a high sheriff. Thus, Pennsylvania succeeded in 
dividing the Yankees, and now they were no longer one 
people united against a common enemy. As the first 
day of February approached the breach widened, and on 
the morning of the 'election, "for the first time," says 
Miner, "was presented the spectacle, equally gratifying to 
foes and painful to friends, of open and decided hostility 
among the Wyoming people. Colonel Butler, Colonel 



THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 91 



Denison, the HoUenbacks, the Rosses, the famiUes of 
Gore, Carey, Nesbit, and others, were in favor of the 
election, while Franklin, the Jenkinses, the Slocums, 
Satterlies, Dudleys, and others, opposed it." The former 
were ready and willing to swear allegiance to Pennsyl- 
vania, and trust to her honor for a confirmation of their 
titles, and for the securitj^ of their homes ; but Franklin 
and his adherents, remembering Pennsylvania's oft re- 
peated and plighted vows, and the outrages of Armstrong 
and Patterson, would not trust her without security. 
Confirm us in our titles, and protect us in our posses- 
sions, said they, and then we will swear allegiance, but 
not till then. The election was held, but not without 
riot and confusion. Colonel Nathan Denison was chosen 
a member of the Executive Council, John Franklin was 
elected to the House of Representatives, and Lord Butler 
to the office of high sheriff of the county. It was under- 
stood if Franklin could be reconciled, the new state pro- 
ject would be seriously damaged. It was consequently a 
prime object to seduce him from his former connections. 
With this view he had been appointed with Pickering 
and Butler to give notice of the election, and it was with 
this view he had been elected a member of the Pennsyl- 
vania Assembl}'. It was doubtless intended as an exqui- 
site stroke of political management. It was a cunningly- 
spread net, in which most men would have been caught. 
But Franklin was not so to be taken, for he stubbornly 
adhered to his first position, refusing to take a seat in the 
Assembly or the oath of allegiance. 

The settlers who had united with Pennsylvania, and 
who recognised Pickering as their leader, denounced 
Franklin and his associates as " Wild Yankees," prose- 
cuting a project which would involve them in endless 
war. On the other hand, Franklin and his adherents 



92 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



proclaimed them as traitors, who had gone over to the 
enemy, and against whose treachery they, even now, had 
not the slightest guarantee. 

On the 28th of March following the election, the As- 
sembly of Pennsylvania, seeing that all efforts to recon- 
cile the " Wild Yankees" had failed, passed the Confirming 
Law, under M'hich Timothy Pickering, Joseph Montgo- 
mery, and Peter Muhlenberg were appointed commis- 
sioners, to sit at Wilkesbarre, to hear and decide claims. 
Both parties now agreed to hold a general mass meeting 
of all the settlers at Fort}^ Fort, and to discuss the merits 
of the late Act of Assembly. A stand was erected, and 
Samuel Sutton was chosen chairman. Timothy Picker- 
ing opened the discussion by a lengthy and persuasive 
argument in favor of the law. He declared that Penn- 
sylvania was honest and sincere, and pledged his honor 
as security for her good faith. Stephen Gardner, half 
doubting, said, " Your lips speak fair, but oh ! that there 
was a window in that breast that we might see and read 
your heart." 

Major John Jenkins replied to Pickering, " What gua- 
rantee have we that Pennsylvania will keep her plighted 
faith ? She has forfeited her honor time and again. If 
we accept the provisions of this law, when she finds we 
are tied hand and foot she will repeal it, and leave us 
without, hope." 

John Franklin now followed in a powerful and sarcastic 
speech. He denounced, in the most bitter and irritating 
language, the conduct of Pennsjdvania, as well as of those 
who had taken part with Pickering. The pent-up emo- 
tions of the excited assembly could no longer be re- 
strained — a fight ensued, clubs were cut and used, and 
for a moment serious consequences were imminent. When 




'& a 

ft i 

ii 









O =4 

a s 
f I 



THE PENNAxMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 93 



order was partially restored a vote was taken, when it 
was decided to accept the law. 

The commissioners appointed under this law now 
opened their court, and decided upon a number of claims ; 
but, being threatened with violence, they adjourned in the 
month of August. 

A constitution for the new state, which the Susque- 
hanna Company had proposed to form, having been drawn 
up by Oliver Walcott, and the officers having been decided 
upon, General Ethan Allen, in September, arrived in the' 
valley. He found the Connecticut people divided, and 
he set himself at work to unite them. Among other 
things he declared he had made one new state, and that 
with one hundred Green Mountain boys, and two hun- 
dred riflemen, he could make another in spite of Penn- 
sylvania. The bold Franklin was indefatigable in his 
efforts. He addressed the people in Kingston, Hanover, 
Newport, Pittston, &c., but all in vain. A union was 
not to be perfected, and Allen returned to New England. 

Soon after Allen's departure, Pickering and his adhe- 
rents resolved to arrest Franklin for high treason. A 
writ was issued by Chief Justice McKean, and placed in 
the hands of four resolute men, non-residents of Luzerne 
county. About the close of September, Franklin came 
to Wilkesbarre, and, says Mr. Miner, "As he stood by 
Mr. Yarrington's, near the Ferry, about two o'clock in 
the afternoon, a person whom he knew came up and said, 
' a friend at the red house wished to speak to him.' Un- 
conscious of danger he walked down, when suddenly he 
was seized behind, and an attempt made to pinion his 
arms. By powerful efforts he shook himself loose ; was 
again seized ; but by the most vigorous exertions kept his 
opponents from their purjDose, till a noose was thrown 
over his head, and bis arms confined — the power of all 



94 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY 



four being requisite to tie him. To get him on horse- 
back was the next object. Colonel Franklin now cried 
out : ' Help, help ! William Slocum ! Where is WilHam 
Slocum ?' and drawing his pistols, for he went armed, 
discharged one of them without effect, when a heavy blow 
struck him for a moment almost senseless, and covered 
his face with blood. The hour had been judiciously 
selected — in the midst of seeding time. William Slocum, 
with nearly all the male population, were at work in 
distant fields sowing grain. But the spirit of the good 
Quaker mother was roused. Her Yankee blood was up. 
A lovely and amiable woman she was, but for the moment 
she thought of nothing but the release of Franklin. Mrs. 
Slocum seized the gun, and running to the door, ' Wil- 
liam,' she cried, 'who will call William? Is there no 
man here ? Will nobody rescue him ?' " 

From the river bank Captain Erbe had got his prisoner 
into the main street, near Colonel Pickering's ; but with 
tremendous power, in despite of his four captors, Franklin 
threw himself from the horse, as often as placed on him, 
when Colonel Pickering was obliged to come from behind 
the curtain, and decisively to interpose. Accompanied 
by his servant, William A. George, he ran to the door 
armed with a loaded pistol, which he held to Franklin's 
breast, while George tied his legs under the horse, and 
bound him to one of his captors. 

Colonel Pickering says, " The four gentlemen seized 
him — two of their horses were in my stable, which were 
sent to them ; but soon my servant returned on one of 
them with a message from the gentlemen that the people 
were assembling in numbers, and requested me to come 
with what men were near me, to prevent a rescue. I took 
loaded pistols in my hands, and went with another ser- 
vant to their aid. Just as I met them, Franklin threw 



THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 95 



himself off his horse, and renewed his struggle with them. 
His hair was disheveled and face bloody with preceding 
efforts. I told the gentlemen they would never carry him 
off unless his feet were tied under his horse's belly. I 
sent for a cord. The gentlemen remounted him, and my 
servant tied his feet. Then one taking his bridle, another 
following behind, and the others riding one on each side, 
they whipped up his horse, and were soon beyond the 
reach of his friends. Thus subdued by six, he was hur- 
ried with painful speed to the jail at Philadelphia." 

News of the arrest and abduction of Franklin spread 
rapidly through the valley, and his friends in retaliation 
determined to seize Pickering and hold him as a hostage 
until the release of Franklin. The attempt w^as made, 
but through the intervention of Colonel Zebulon Butler 
he was permitted to escape to Philadelphia. Soon after 
his arrival there, in October, a meeting of the Pennsyl- 
vania claimants was convened. In relation to this meet- 
ing Pickering says, " I was advised of a meeting of the 
Pennsylvania claimants, and requested to be present. The 
number did not exceed ten or twelve. The Kev. Dr. 
Ewing, an elderly Presbyterian gentleman, and provost 
of the state university, was one of the number, and the 
most zealous for petitioning the Legislature, then in ses- 
sion, to repeal the Confirming Law. The gentlemen in 
general appeared to be opposed to that step, and some of 
them observed that the faith of the state being pledged, 
its honor required an adherence to the promises of the 
Confirming Law. ^ What do I care for the honor of the 
state? I want my money!' was the shameless reply of 
the reverend gentleman." 

The Rev. Dr. Smith, who had also been connected with 
the University, and was a distinguished minister in the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, was a member of this meet- 
ing, and, like Dr. Ewing, held a small claim in Wyoming. 



96 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Through the influence of these two men the Confirming 
Law was repealed. 

" I beheve," says Pickering, " but for these two reve- 
rend gentlemen teasing and intriguing with members of 
the Legislature, the Confirming Law might have been car- 
ried into execution." 

Thus w^e find the idea of forming a new state has been 
abandoned, the Susquehanna company is paralyzed, and 
Franklin is wasting away in a gloomy prison. The Con- 
firming Law has been repealed, and the honor of Pennsyl- 
vania is forfeited. The prophetic words of John Jenkins 
have been realized, and the faith of the Commonwealth, 
as well as the interests of the settlers, has been sacrificed 
to the intrigues of land-jobbing priests. ,, ^. 

Pickering returned to Wyoming in January, 1788. On 
the night of the 26th of June following, being in bed in the 
house* now owned and occupied by General W. S. Ross, 
Wilkesbarre, he was seized by Franklin's friends, and 
conveyed up the river into what is now Wyoming county. 
Here he was kept prisoner, wandering from place to place 
through the w^oods, with a chain about his body by which 
he was secured to a tree during the night. Sherift' Butler, 
with four companies of militia, made pursuit in order to 
effect a rescue. A conflict between the opposing parties 
ensued at Meshoppen. The sheriff's party soon exhibited 
their superiority, and the Wild Yankees wdth Pickering fled 
into deeper and less frequented shades of the wilderness. 
Captain William Ross, who commanded one of the sheriff's 
companies, was severely wounded, and Gideon Dudley, 
who commanded the Yankees, was wounded in the wrist. 
Another 'engagement took place between the Yankees and 
a company of the sheriff's force, under the command of 

* It was in front of this house that John Franklin was captured by 
Pickering and his men. 



THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. 97 



Captain Roswell Franklin, near Wysox, and Joseph Dud- 
ley, one of the Yankees, was mortally wounded. 

The object of Pickering's capture was to procure from 
him a letter to the state authorities asking for Franklin's 
release. This Pickering steadily refused to do, when he 
was, at length, released by his captors. He returned to 
Wilkesbarre after a captivity of twenty days. 

Fruitless efforts were made for Franklin's release. Two 
thousand pounds bail were demanded, and he had offered 
a number of the Wyoming settlers as bailors, but they 
were contemptuously refused. He was told no ten of 
these settlers were worth two hundred pounds, much less 
two thousand, and that the whole of them were a pack 
of thieves, &c.,-&c. 

In November, 1788, a court was ordered to be held at 
Wilkesbarre for the trial of Franklin and the rioters. 
Chief Justice McKean presided, assisted by his honor 
Jacob Rush. Franklin was brought up from Philadel- 
phia, after thirteen long months of imprisonment. His 
strong frame was bowed and' weakened by disease. He 
was charged with high treason, and the grand jury found 
a true bill. The trial was then postponed, and never 
afterwards called up. Franklin was admitted to bail. 

Twenty-five persons engaged in the capture of Picker- 
ing were indicted, and a number fined or imprisoned, but 
from policy the sentence of the court was not fully car- 
ried into effect. 

Thus were the " Wild Yankees" subjugated, and the 
authority of Pennsylvania was established, chiefly through 
the influence of Colonel Pickering, a man of consummate 
tact and ability. 

The attempt to establish a new state out of Northern 
Pennsylvania, if not nipped in the bud, would have led 
to deplorable consequences. All the wild spirits of New 



98 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



England would have flocked to Allen's standard, and the 
people of Pennsjdvania, being now justly aroused and 
indignant, would have put forth all the energies of the 
Commonwealth to crush the efforts to dismember their 
territory. A violent and bloody civil Avar, of indefinite 
magnitude and of indefinite length, would have followed, 
and would possibly have involved the Union in its confla- 
gration. The promptness, skill, and foresight of Picker- 
ing and others averted this calamit}^ 

The Legislature of Pennsylvania, between the years 
1788 and 1800, enacted several laws relative to the 
Wyoming claims and difficulties. But the most import- 
ant was undoubtedly the Compromising Law of 1799, 

By this act compensation was offered to Pennsylvania 
claimants, and by it, with the several supplements thereto, 
the dispute was finally settled. As under former laws, so 
by this, commissioners Avere appointed to meet at Wyoming 
to hold their courts and determine disputes. If it appeared 
that the Connecticut claimant was an actual settler on the 
land before the Trenton decree, and that said tract was 
particular!}^ assigned to said settler before said decree, 
according to the rules and regulations then in force among 
the settlers, then a certificate issued to the Connecticut 
claimant, upon which he received a patent from the land 
office, by paying into the treasury two dollars per acre 
for lands of the first class, one dollar and twenty cents 
for lands of the second class, fifty cents for lands of the 
third class, and eight and one-third cents for lands of the 
fourth class. 

The commissioners were to cause a re-survey of all 
the lands lying in the seventeen townships claimed by 
the Pennsylvania claimants, and after forty thousand 
acres should be released and re-conveyed to the Common- 
wealth by said claimants, then they were to receive a 



THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE T7AR. 99 



compensation for the same from the state treasury, at 
the rate of five dollars for first-class lands, three dollars 
for second, one dollar and fifty cents for third, and twenty- 
five cents for fourth-class lands, per acre. These seventeen 
townships were those laid out by the Susquehanna Com- 
pany, and after the passage of the Act of 1799 were called 
certified townships, and those of them in this county are 
designated on the accompanying map by dotted lines and 
open letters. The names of these townships are Wilkes- 
barre, Hanover, Newport, Huntington, Salem, Plymouth, 
Kingston, Exeter, Bedford, Pittston, Providence, Putnam 
or Tunkhannock, Ulster, Claverack, Braintrim, North- 
moreland, and Springfield. The last six lie within the 
limits of Wyoming, Susquehanna, and Bradford counties. 

Thus, after thirty years of strife there was peace, peace 
at last in Wyoming. The record presents a sad com- 
mentary on the folly of men. Passion and selfishness 
predominate, and the voice of reason is unheeded. Not 
until after their energies and substance are exhausted, 
and every expedient that foll}^ could suggest has been 
tried, do they open their eyes, and quietly pursue that 
course which common sense pointed out at the first. 

The conduct of the state of Pennsylvania is without 
excuse. Her vacillating legislation, and her bad faith, 
expose her to the severest censure. The Pennsylvania 
claimants undoubtedly exercised an undue influence in 
her legislative halls, and it is to be feared corruptly pro- 
cured the repeal of measures which at a previous session 
had been enacted with the best motives for honest pur- 
poses. It is to be hoped that our great Commonwealth 
will never again suffer the pages of her history to be 
darkened and disgraced, by a disregard of the dictates of 
justicq_aj^(^ of humanity. 



CHAPTER III. 

CAPTAIN LAZARUS STEWART. 

Dauphin county, in Pennsylvania, was originally called 
Paxton district, and was included, previous to 1785, in 
Lancaster county. It was first settled by Scotch-Irish 
Presbyterians, from the north of Ireland, about the year 
1726, among whom were the ancestors of Captain Lazarus 
Stewart. He was born in Hanover township, in Paxton 
or Pextang district, in the year 1734. His father was a 
plain honest farmer, who gave his son such education as 
the frontiers of a new country commonly afford. The 
Scotch-Irish were generally impressed with the import- 
ance of mental improvement, and every settlement usually 
had its schoolmaster "to teach the young idea how to 
shoot." The subject of this sketch was endowed by nature 
with excellent abilities, and though his bold and impatient 
spirit could ill brook the strict school discipline of that 
day, yet he appears to have made considerable advance- 
ment in his studies under a Scotch-Irish teacher, who 
" flourished the birch" in the neighborhood of his father's 
cabin. For one whose days were destined to be spent in 
the adventurous scenes of frontier life, amid hardships 
and alarms, with an axe in one hand and a rifle in the 
other, his education may be said to have been excellent; 
He possessed a strong and active body, with a daring and 
enterprising spirit, which in boyhood gave him superiority 
among his companions, and in riper years made him a 
leader and a man of mark, 

(100) 



CAPTAIN LAZARUS STEWART. 101 



In the year 1755, when the French were striving to 
prevent the expansion of the EngUsh colonies from the 
source of the Ohio towards the Mississippi, Stewart, then 
twenty-one years of age, was placed in command of a 
company of brave young men, who penetrated the wilder- 
ness westward, and united with the forces under General 
Braddock. That heroic but conceited general, who was 
accounted an excellent officer on the battle-fields of 
Europe, was altogether ignorant of Indian tactics, and in 
his infatuated self-reliance met with a most disastrous 
overthrow. The Indians, following on the track of the 
retreating remnants of the army, dispersed themselves in 
bands, and broke into the frontier settlements of Penn- 
sylvania with fire and murder. Captain Stewart and his 
comrades hastened home to defend their firesides and 
loved ones. However, while they were yet on their way, 
a party of savages, under cover of the night, stole into 
the northern portion of Paxton, and murdered a whole 
family. Then securing the plunder and cattle, they fled 
away into the wilderness. The head of a beautiful young 
girl of this family was severed from her body, and raised 
on a pole above the house-top. This lady was Captain 
Stewart's intended bride, to whom he was to be united in 
marriage on his return from the campaign. She was an 
amiable girl, endued with rare beauty, fondly attached to 
her lover, and was looking forward with pleasing antici- 
pations to his return, though doubtless with mingled feel- 
ings of anxiety in view of the chances of war. The hope 
of future happiness, the bright eye and fair cheek of his 
promised bride, must have fortified the heart of the young 
soldier, and smoothed -down the difficulties which he 
encountered in the depths of the forest, and on the field 
of battle. On his road to Hanover, he would pass near 
to the home of his loved one, but as he approached he 



102 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



saw in the distance its burned and blackened remains. 
Suddenly a terrible fear sprang up in his heart, and pale- 
ness overspread his cheek. When he came near he saw 
the bodies of the slain fiimily, which had been gathered 
up and placed in rough coffins by the assembled neigh- 
bors. We may imagine the deep anguish of the young 
soldier as he gazed on the mutilated remains of her who 
was more to him than all the world beside. None but 
strong and passionate natures can conceive of the fierce 
emotions which flamed up in his soul, when he thought 
of those who had done this horrid deed. Hannibal, in 
obedience to parental authority, swore eternal hostility to 
ambitious Rome, because she was the rival of his native 
Carthage; Stewart, standing over that precious but dis- 
figured form, took an oath of vengeance against the 
Indians, because they had made his heart desolate, and 
turned his anticipations of joy to bitterness unspeakable. 
The inhabitants of Paxton immediately formed them- 
selves into a military corps, called the Paxton Rangers, 
and constituted their excellent pastor, the Rev. Mr. Elder, 
its colonel. In this regiment Stewart was appointed cap- 
tain of -a company, whose duties were to watch the settle- 
ments along the Juniata, and those on the w^est and north 
branches of the Susquehanna, and protect them from the 
rifle and tomahawk of the savage. Several skirmishes 
took place between his rangers and the savage foe during 
a period of two or three years. In these engagements he 
exhibited that impetuous daring and great firmness which 
were characteristic of the man. He was always on the 
alert; his vigilance never slept, and his powers of en- 
durance were the admiration of all. High mountains, 
swollen rivers, or great distances never deterred or appal- 
led him. His courage and fortitude were equal to everv 



CAPTAIN LAZARUS STEWART. 103 



undertaking, and woe betide the red men \vlien tlieir 
blood-stained tracks once met his eye. 

In 1763 the frontiers were visited by scalping-parties 
of Indians, during what was called Pontiac's war. Earl}' 
in October of that 3'ear, the Stinton family and a number 
of Irish settlements in Northampton county were mas- 
sacred by Indians of the Six Nations. These barbarities 
soon reached the ears of the Paxton men, and they soli- 
cited their colonel, Rev. Mr. Elder, to obtain permission 
from the governor to allow them to make an expedition 
against the enemy. Another object in view was " to 
destroy the immense quantities of corn left by the New 
England men at Wyoming, which, if not consumed, would 
be a considerable magazine to the enemy, and enable them 
with more ease to distress the inhabitants." At the most 
earnest solicitation of his men. Colonel Elder allowed twt) 
of his companies of rangers, respectively under the com- 
mands of Captain Stewart and Captain Clayton, to pro- 
ceed to Wyoming. They marched in three days and a 
half one hundred and ten mil^s on foot. When they 
reached Wyoming they learned that the murdering party, 
which had committed shocking depredations in North- 
ampton county on the 8th October, was probably the 
same which, on the 15th of that month, had cut off the 
New England settlers in the valley. At all events, they 
entered the valley from the direction of Northampton, 
and took their departure up the river. There is no suffi- 
cient ground for supposing that the massacre of the 
settlers of Wyoming, in the autumn of 1763, was done 
by the friends of Tedyuscung, the great Delaware king, 
who was murdered in the valley in the spring of that 
year. All the presumptions are in favor of the opinion 
that the murderers of Tedyuscung, as well as of the New 
England settlers, belonged to the Six Nations. From the 



104 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



language of Colonel Elder to Governor Hamilton, it would 
appear as if the colonel, in using the word left, with 
respect to the corn in Wyoming, thought the New Eng- 
land men had lied from the valley. And the belief was 
a natural one, when we consider the exposed condition of 
that region of country when Pontiac's war was raging 
along the frontiers. It is certain Clayton and Stewart 
could not have heard of the Wyoming murder until after 
they had left home, and had advanced a considerable dis- 
tance on their expedition. Their object was to intercept 
the Northampton murderers, as well as to destroy the 
corn which they supposed had been left by the New Eng- 
landers. They found and buried, of these New England 
people, ten persons, nine men and one woman, who had 
been barbarously butchered. " The woman was roasted, 
and had two hinges in her hands, supposed to have been 
put in red-hot, and several of the men had awls thrust in 
their eyes, and spears, arrows, pitchforks, &c., sticking in 
their bodies."* The Paxton Rangers, after burning the 
Indian houses and a quantity of corn, returned to their 
homes. The scenes which Stewart and his men had 
already witnessed were eminently calculated to rouse the 
highest degree of resentment against the Indian. Besides 
these murdered strangers of another colony, but of the 
same race and language with themselves, they had seen 
their neighbors and acquaintances, their friends, and those 
dearest to their hearts, cold in death, felled by the toma- 
hawk, tortured and cruelly mangled. 

The condition of the frontiers now became most alarm- 
ing. The depredations of the savages grew more fre- 
quent, and the remote settlements were deserted. In the 
midst of the peace and quiet of our day, we cannot form 

* See Appendix, A. 



CAPTAIN LAZARUS STEWART. 105 



an adequate conception of the perils which encompassed 
the Paxton settlers at this time. The slaughter of their 
wives and children drove the men to desperation. Some 
of the murderers were known to have been harbored by 
the friendly Indians at Conestoga. This gave rise to a 
bitter animosity against the-m. Indeed, a feeling of hos- 
tility was awakened against the Moravians and Quakers, 
who were disposed to conciliate and protect the Indians. 
The people in and about Philadelphia, and those portions 
of the province, secure against the fire and tomahawk of 
the savage, looked with a lenient eye on his bloody depre- 
dations. He was a savage, unchristianized, said they, 
ignorant of 'his duty and his destiny, encroached upon by 
the white man, and driven from his hunting-grounds. We 
should pardon much to his wild and untamed nature, 
and reform rather than punish him. This was the glori- 
ous doctrine of toleration, calculated for the benevolent 
and non-resisting Quaker, secure in his life and property. 
But it was ill-suited for the frontiersman, who had seen 
his harvest desolated, his house burned, and was now 
burying for ever from his sight the scalped and mangled 
forms of his family. Governor Hamilton was besought 
and petitioned to remove the Conestoga Indians. Rev. 
Mr. Elder informed the governor if these Indians were 
removed, and a garrison placed in their room, he would 
pledge himself for the future security of the frontier. 
These representations and petitions were disregarded. 
Murder following murder was perpetrated, and the bloody 
wretches traced by Captain Stewart and his men to Con- 
estoga. It was plain that the Indians at Conestoga, under 
the guise of friendliness, were harboring and assisting 
their red brethren in the destruction of white men. Their 
position and character rendered their offence the more 
heinous. Further endurance ceased to be a virtue. Cap- 



106 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



tain Stewart summoned his rangers. They were obedient 
to tlie call. In the language of Redmond Conjngham, 
Esq., rilies were loaded, horses were in readiness. They 
mounted ; they called on their pastor to lead them, lie 
had mounted, not to lead them on to the destruction of 
Conestoga, but to deter them from the attempt ; he im- 
plored them to return, he urged them to reflect : " Pause, 
pause, before you proceed !" It was in vain ; '' the blood 
of the murdered cries aloud for vengeance; we have 
waited long enough on government ; the murderers are 
within our reach, and they must not escape." Mr. Elder 
reminded them that " the guilty and innocent could not 
be distinguished." ''Innocent! can they be called inno- 
cent who foster murderers ?" Mr. Elder rode up in front, 
and said, " As your pastor, I command you to relinquish 
your design !" " Give way, then," said Smith, " or your 
horse dies," presenting his rifle : to save his horse, to 
which he was much attached, the aged minister drew 
him aside, and the rangers were off on their fatal errand. 
It was the night of the 14th of December, 1763, when 
these exasperated men approached the village of Cones- 
toga. The moment they were perceived an Indian fired, 
and rushed towards them, brandishing his tomahawk. He 
fell by more than one ball — one cried, " It is the villain 
who murdered my mother." The village was instantly 
stormed, and reduced to ashes. But many of the Indians 
escaped the vengeance of the rangers, and were received 
by the people of Lancaster, who placed them in the stone 
workhouse for safety. Stewart sent spies to Lancaster, 
who reported their condition, and that one of their num- 
ber, there sheltered, had been concerned in recent mur- 
ders. Stewart said, " We will go to Lancaster, storm 
their castle, and carry off the assassin." The plan was 
arranged. They proceeded to Lancaster. Stewart was 



CAPTAIN LAZARUS STEVTART. 107 



to reuiiiiii outside of the prison, with twelve men, to pre- 
vent surprise, five more were to guard the keepers from 
meddhng, while three were to enter, secure the murderer 
with cords, and hand him over to Stewart. In case of 
resistance, a gun was to be fired as a signal. The signal 
was given, the Indians perished, and the rangers mounted 
and rode hastily to their homes. This occurred on the 
27th of December, about two weeks after the affair at 
Conestoga, while the people of Lancaster were generally 
at church. 

These deeds created a wonderful excitement throughout 
the province. Numerous essays and pamphlets were 
written, and the press teemed with publications accusing 
and excusing Stewart and his rangers. The Moravians 
and Quakers denounced the Presbyterians of Paxton, as 
aiding and abetting the rangers in their work of blood. 
The Presbyterians accused the Moravians and Quakers 
of fostering murderous Indians. All parties blamed the 
governor for not removing the Indians, as he had been 
repeatedly urged and warned to do. Crimination and 
recrimination were the order of the day. Governor Penn 
issued his proclamation, offering a reward of two hundred 
pounds for the arrest of Captain Stewart, or any of his 
men, and the Assembly passed a law declaring that any 
person accused of taking away the life of an Indian shall 
not be tried in the county where the deed was committed, 
but in the city of Philadelphia. This law shows the 
excited state of the public mind, and never would have 
been enacted if the frontier counties, which had but ten 
members in the Assembly, had not been overruled by 
the city and county of Philadelphia, and counties of 
Chester and Bucks, which gave twenty-six members. 
No doubt innocent persons perished at Conestoga and 
Lancaster, but, considering the circumstances of the case, 



108 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



there is every palliation for this deed of men acting in 
self-defence, and driven to madness by their losses, and 
their own perilous condition. It is important to know 
that the destruction of the Conestoga Indians gave quiet 
to the frontiers. The Rev. Mr. Elder, in writing to 
Governor Penn, under date of January 27th, 1764, says, 
in speaking of Stewart and his rangers, ^ The men in 
private life are virtuous and respectable ; not cruel, but 
mild and merciful. The time will arrive when each 
palliating circumstance will be calmly weighed." In 
another letter, in speaking of Stewart particularly^, he 
represents him as humane, liberal, and religious. 

The history of Pennsylvania, from the period of the 
French war to the commencement of the Revolution, 
exhibits ample evidence of a gross neglect of the frontiers 
on the part of the proprietary government. These dis- 
tant settlements were left single-handed to hold the 
savages in check, and they were also refused pecuniary 
aid from the government. The people of the city of 
Philadelphia and of the lower counties sympathized with 
the Indians, and could form no adequate conception of the 
feelings of the frontier people, who lived in the midst of 
alarms and losses. A feeling of decided unfriendliness 
existed between the government and the eastern portion 
of the state on the one hand, and the settlers along the 
Susquehanna river and its tributaries on the other. 
-Hence, we must read the letters, pamphlets, and essays 
of that period, in regard to the Conestoga affair, with 
many grains of allowance for the excited feelings of hos- 
tile sections. Stewart and his men continued to live in 
security in the Paxton district, upheld by their own 
people, in spite of the rewards and denunciations of the 
government. 



CAPTAIN LAZARUS STEWART. 109 



But here is Captain Stewart's own view of the matter, 
as published by himself, in the midst of the stirring excite- 
ment of the hour. 

" Declaration. Let all hear. Were the counties of 
Lancaster, York, Cumberland, Berks, and Northampton 
protected by government ? Did not John Harris of Pax- 
ton ask advice of Colonel Croghan, and did not the colonel 
advise him to raise a company of scouters, and was not 
this confirmed by Benjamin Franklin ? And yet when 
Harris asked the Assembly to pay the scouting party, he 
was told ' that he might pay them himself.' Did not the 
counties of Lancaster, York, Cumberland, Berks, and 
Northampton, the frontier settlements, keep up rangers 
to watch the motions of the Indians ; and when a murder 
was committed by an Indian, a runner with the intelli- 
gence was sent to each scouting party, that the murderer 
or murderers might be punished ? Did we not brave the 
summer's heat and the winter's cold, and the savage toma- 
hawk, while the inhabitants of Philadelphia, Philadelphia 
county, Bucks, and Chester ' ate, drank, and were merry' ? 

" If a white man kill an Indian, it is a murder far 
exceeding any crime upon record ; he must not be tried 
in the county where he lives, or where the offence was 
committed, but in Philadelphia, that he may be tried, 
convicted, sentenced, and hung without delay. If an 
Indian kill a white man, it was the act of an ignorant 
heathen, perhaps in liquor : alas, poor innocent ! he is 
sent to the friendly Indians, that he may be made a 
Christian. Is it not a notorious fact, that an Indian who 
treacherously murdered a family in Northampton county, 
was given up to the magistrates that he might have a 
regular trial; and was not this Indian conveyed into 
Bucks county, and is he not provided with every neces- 



110 ANNALS OF LUZEllNE COUNTY. 



sary, and kept secured from punishment by Israel Pem- 
berton ? Have we not repeatedly represented that Cones- 
togue was a harbor for prowling savages, and that we 
were at a loss to tell friend or foe, and all we asked was 
the removal of the Christian Indians ? Was not this pro- 
mised by Governor Penn, yet delayed? Have we for- 
gotten Renatus, that Christian Indian? A murder of 
more than savage barbarity was committed on the Sus- 
quehanna; the murderer was traced by the scouts to 
Conestogue ; he was demanded, but the Indians assumed 
a warlike attitude, tomahawks were raised, and the fire- 
arms glistened in the sun ; shots were fired upon the 
scouts, w^io went back for additional force. They re- 
turned, and you know the event — Conestogue was reduced 
to ashes. But the murderer escaped. The friendly and 
unfriendly were placed in the workhouse at Lancaster. 
What could secure them from the vengeance of an exas- 
perated people ? The doors were forced, and the hapless 
Indians perished. Were we tamely to look on and see 
our brethren murdered, and see our fairest prospects 
blasted, while the inhabitants of Philadelphia, Philadel- 
phia county, Bucks and Chester, slept, and reaped their 
grain in safety ? 

" These hands never shed human blood. Why am I 
singled out as an object of persecution ? Why are the 
bloodhounds let loose upon me ? Let him who wished 
to take my life — let him come and take it — I shall not fly. 
All I ask is that the men accused of murder be tried in 
Lancaster county. All I ask is a trial in my own county. 
If these requests are refused, then not a hair of those 
men's heads shall be molested. Whilst I have life you 
shall not either have them or me on any terms. It is true, 
I submitted to the sheriff of York county, but you know 
too well that I was to be conveyed to Philadelphia like a 



CAPTAIN LAZARUS STEWART. Ill 



wild felon, manacled, to die a felon's death. I would 
have scorned to fly from York. I could not bear that my 
name should be marked by ignominy. What I have 
done, w^as done for the security of hundreds of settlers 
on the frontiers. The blood of a thousand of my fellow- 
creatures called for vengeance. I shed no Indian's blood. 
As a ranger I sought the post of danger, and now you 
ask my life. Let me be tried w^here prejudice has not 
prejudged my case. Let my brave rangers, who have 
stemmed the blast nobly, and never flinched, let them 
have an equitable trial; they were my friends in the 
hour of danger — to desert them now w^ere cowardice ! 
What remains, is to leave our cause with our God, and 
our guns. 

" Lazarus Stewart." 

The strife at Wyoming, betw^een the Connecticut set- 
tlers and Pennsylvania, gave Stewart and his rangers an 
opportunity to gratify their love of adventure, as well as 
their hostility to the proprietary government. The demo- 
cratic tendencies of the Susquehanna Compan}^, and the 
vesting of the title of lands in the occupants of the soil, 
had strong attractions for men of Stewart's cast of mind. 
In December, 1769, Stew^art went to Connecticut to nego- 
tiate with the Susquehanna Company. In consideration 
of certain lands he proposed to unite his forces with those 
of the company, and effect the occupation and settlement 
of Wyoming. The proposition was accepted. He re- 
turned to Paxton, and informed his comrades that he 
had obtained the grant of a township of land for himself 
and them, provided they would settle thereon and defend 
the soil. They afterwards called this township Hanover, 
in honor of their old home, Hanover of Paxton. In the 
beginning of February, 1770, at the head of forty of his 



112 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



men, and ten New Englanders, Stewart entered the Valley 
of Wyoming, and, routing the garrison left by Ogden and 
Jennings, under the Pennsylvania claim, took possession 
of Fort Durkee. 

When news of this event reached Philadelphia, Ogden, 
with fifty men, immediately set off for the seat of war, 
where he arrived and took possession of his old post at 
Mill Creek. Thrice had the Yankees been driven from 
the valley by the forces of the proprietaries, the men 
being sent to prison at Philadelphia or Easton, while the 
women and children were forced on long and dreary 
marches to Connecticut. Stewart and his men being 
joined by Major John Durkee, who had been released 
from prison, marched against Ogden, and compelled him 
to surrender. They drove him from the valley and 
burned his block-house, having lost one man, who was 
killed at the first onset. 

Stewart and his men now took possession of Hanover, 
the township granted by the Susquehanna Company. 
They proceeded to clear their lands and erect houses, 
preparatory to the removal of their families from Paxton. 

On the 28th of June, Governor Penn issued a procla- 
mation, forbidding settlements under Connecticut, and 
offering a reward of three hundred pounds for the appre- 
hension of Lazarus Stewart, Zebulon Butler, and Lazarus 
Young, three persons against whom the governor's ire 
was specially excited. About the last of August Stewart 
and his men left Wyoming for Paxton, purposing to 
return in November with their families. In September, 
during Stewart's absence, Ogden entered the valley with 
a large force, captured several men in the field, and, 
storming Fort Durkee, compelled the Yankees to surren- 
der. Captain Butler and other leaders were sent prisoners 
to Philadelphia, and the rest were forced, with women 



CAPTAIN LAZAKUS STEWAKT. 113 



and cliildren, to return on foot to New England. A few 
days before this event, Stewart was arrested by a posse 
in Lebanon, under the proclamation of the governor, but 
seizing an axe-handle, he knocked down the constable 
and one or two of his aids, and forced his way into the 
street. The town was in an uproar ; the authorities called 
on the people to aid in his arrest, but they refused. At 
this juncture Stewart's comrades, who had heard of his 
danger, rode impetuously into the village, and bore away 
their leader in triumph. About the last of October fol- 
lowing Stewart crossed the Susquehanna with a span of 
horses, at Wright's Ferry, into York county, where he 
was going on business. He was immediately arrested by 
the sheriff of York and his posse, and thrown into the 
county prison. Fearful of a rescue, he was hurried away, 
pinioned and handcuffed, early the next morning, to be 
carried to Philadelphia, to answer for his offence in acting 
against his native state in favor of the Connecticut settlers. 
He was in charge of the sheriff, accompanied by three 
assistants. No sooner had the " Paxton Boys" heard of 
his arrest, than they proceeded in great haste to York, 
but they arrived too late. The sheriff was one day in 
advance of them with his charge. They, the prisoner 
and escort, tarried for the night at Finley's, many miles 
on the road towards the city. The night was cold, and 
the three guards, with Stewart, lay down before a large 
fire in the bar-room, the prisoner being fastened to one of 
the men, to prevent his escape. The sheriff slept in an 
adjoining room, dreaming, doubtless, of his success, and 
his reception at Philadelphia, with a captive whom Gov- 
ernor Penn had declared to be the most dangerous man 
in the province. But. Stewart was wide awake. At the 
dead of night he cautiously unloosed the rope which 

bound him to the snoring guard, and with noiseless tread 
8 



114 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



made his way, unobserved, into the open air. Hand- 
cuffed, and Avithout coat, hat, or shoes, he tra,veled 
through the woods and unfrequented thickets to Paxton, 
where he arrived on the following day. His presence 
brought great joy to his sorrowing wife and children, and 
exultation to his rangers. 

Tidings of the arrest and escape of Stewart had scarcely 
reached the ears of Governor Penn, before he was in- 
formed of another serious offence committed by him. At 
three o'clock in the morning of the 18th of December, 
1770, Stewart, at the head of his men, had made a rapid 
descent on Fort Durkee, and captured it a second time 
from the Pennsylvania party. A new warrant was now 
issued for his arrest by Thomas Willing, a Judge of the 
Supreme Court, and directed to Peter Hacklein, sheriff 
of Northampton county, who raised an armed force, and 
proceeded to Wyoming. Arrived at Fort Durkee, Janu- 
ary 18th, 1771, he demanded admittance. "Stewart 
informed him from the parapet that none but friends 
should be admitted ; that Wyoming was under the juris- 
diction of Connecticut, and that he should recognise no 
authority whatever in any persons acting under commis- 
sions from the government of Pennsylvania." Captain 
Ogden, who had accompanied Sheriff Hacklein, now 
attacked Fort Durkee, and his fire being returned by 
Stewart's party, Nathan Ogden, the captain's brother, was 
killed, and three others wounded. Stewart soon per- 
ceived his position was untenable. He was short of pro- 
visions, and the number of his men was much less than 
that of the enemy. It was impossible to hold out against 
a siege, and consequently during the night, with the Pax- 
ton men, he left for the mountains. Governor Penn 
issued another proclamation, offering a reward of three 
hundred pounds for the arrest of Lazarus Stewart, and 



CAPTAIN LAZARUS STEWART. 



115 



jBfty pounds each for the arrest of James Stewart, Wil- 
liam Stewart, John Simpson, William Speedy, William 
Young, John McDaniel, and Richard Cook. But Captain 
Stewart had marched through the country, and united 
his forces with those of Captain Butler, who had been 
released from prison, and these leaders were now prepar- 
ing for another effort to regain their lost possessions. In 
April, 1771, Butler and Stewart, at the head of one hun- 
dred and fifty men, marched into the valley, and finding 
Ogden strongly entrenched in a new fortification, which 
he called Fort Wyoming, they besieged it. Reinforce- 
ments, sent from Philadelphia, were defeated, and their 
supplies were cut off". The fort at length surrendered, 
and the Yankees were once more in possession of the 
much-coveted prize. 




Stewart's block-house. 



Stewart owned a large farm in Paxton, and he had 
married Martha Espy, the daughter of one of the most 
respectable and wealthy citizens in Lancaster county. 
But his interests, as well as those of his associates, being 



116 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



HOW identified Avith the Yankees, they removed their 
families to Wyoming. He had obta,ined five tracts of 
land in Hanover, and he now proceeded to erect a large 
dwelling or block-house on the river bank, a short dis- 
tance below the present residence of General E. W. Stur- 
devant. Emigrants from New England multiplied, and 
a suitable form of government was established, under 
which Stewart occupied some important positions. Farm- 
houses were generally erected, and the entire settlement, 
unmolested by the Pennamites, was prosperous and happy 
for a period of nearly three years. 

In December, 1775, Colonel Plunket, with seven hun- 
dred men from Northumberland county, invaded Wyo- 
ming, and was met at Nanticoke by Colonel Butler, with 
two hundred and fifty settlers. Butler stationed his 
forces behind a breastwork formed of rocks and logs, near 
the present residence of Jameson Harvey. As Plunket 
approached Butler's position he exclaimed, "My God, 
what a breastwork !" He was greeted by a blank volley 
from the guns of the Yankees, as the intention was to 
frighten, not to kill at the first fire. Plunket then sent 
a detachment to the other side of the river, purposing to 
enter the valley near the present residence of Colonel 
Washington Lee. Here the force came in conflict with a 
party under the command of Captain Stewart. Stewart 
had unbounded confidence in a volley of bullets, which 
were poured into the advancing enemy with fatal effect. 
One man was killed and several wounded. The rest 
rapidly retreated. Colonel Butler was equally successful 
on his side, but not until he had resorted to something 
more effective than blank volleys. Plunket ingloriously 
returned to Northumberland, and this was the last effort 
until after the Revolution, on the part of Pennsylvania, 
to regain possession of Wyoming. 



CAPTAIN LAZARUS STEWART. 117 



When news reached the valley that an invasion was 
contemplated by the British and Indians, a company 
was formed in Hanover, and placed under the command 
of Captain McKerachan, a most estimable and valuable 
citizen, who, on the morning of the 3d day of July, 
1778, when Wyoming was called on to defend herself 
against an overwhelming force of British, Tories, and 
Indians, surrendered his company to the charge of Cap- 
tain Lazarus Stewart in these words : " My pursuits in 
life have thus far, been those of peace ; you have been 
used to war, and accustomed to command. On parade I 
can manoeuvre my men ; but in the field no unnecessary 
hazard should be run; a mistake might prove fatal. 
Take you the lead; I will fight under you, with my 
men, as an aid, or a private in the ranks. Your pre- 
sence at the head of the Hanover boys will impart con- 
fidence." 

The whole force which could be mustered in the valley 
to resist the enemy amounted to about three hundred 
men and boys. On the morning of the battle they were 
assembled in " Forty Fort," when a council of officers 
was convened to decide on the propriety of marching out 
to meet the foe. Colonel Butler and others deemed it 
advisable to remain in the fort. Captain Stewart was 
prominent among those in opposition, who contended for 
a prompt and speedy conflict with the invaders in the 
open field. The debate became animated, and was marked 
with warm words. Stewart contended that the enemy 
were increasing in numbers, that they would plunder the 
settlements of all their jDroperty, that they would burn 
the dwellings and destroy the crops and leave nothing 
for subsistence during the coming winter, that there was 
now no hope of reinforcements on their own side, and 
that if the savages should carry the fort by storm, when 



118 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



they were wasted by fiitigue and famine, they would all, 
together with their women and children, perish in an 
indiscriminate slaughter. A large majority were in favor 
of marching out to encounter the enemy. Who shall say 
this was not the better policy? True, it resulted in a 
most disastrous overthrow. But who will dare to say the 
issue, though protracted, might not ultimately have been 
even more bloody if the settlers had remained in the fort 
and awaited the furious onset of the savage foe ? Stewart 
fell in the battle. When last seen he was surrounded 
by Indians, his high and daring spirit scorning retreat. 
Wounded and dying, on bended knee, with unquailing 
eye, he was repelling the attack of the savages, as seen 
by the narrator, who was hurrying before the rapid pur- 
suit. It is supposed he was recognised by the savages 
as one of their old foes during the French war. It is 
possible they were striving to take him alive that he 
might be tortured. But the probability is, he died in the 
fight. 

His daughter, Martha, was born two days before the 
massacre, and when the dreadful news reached his wife^ 
with the aid of friends, she placed her seven children in a 
small boat and floated down the river to Harrisburg. She 
afterwards returned with her family to Wyoming, where 
she died about the year 1791. 

The names of her children were James, Josiah, Eliza- 
beth, Mary, Priscilla, Margaret, and Martha. 

James married Hannah Jameson. 



Josiah 

EHzabeth 

Mary 

Priscilla 

Margaret 



Mercy Chapman. 
Alexander Jameson, Esq. 
Rev. Andrew Gray. 
Avery Rothborn. 
James Campbell, Esq. 



Martha died unmarried. 



CAPTAIN LAZARUS STEWART. 119 



This sketch is written not to glorify Captain Stewart 
and his descendants, but to defend his character from the 
calumnies uttered against him by his cotemporaries, and 
which have come down to us unanswered. It is not pre- 
tended that he was the great hero, and defender of Wyo- 
ming. But he was a prominent and efficient actor among 
the early settlers, and contributed in no small degree to 
the protection of the settlement, its good order and pros- 
perity. He was a practical man, sober, enterprising, 
brave, kind, and generous. He died gloriously struggling 
to drive back the ruthless invader from the soil whence 
we draw our sustenance, and on which our firesides are 
erected. Let us do justice to his memory. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 

" Should a conqueror tread on our forefather's dust, 
It "would wake the old bones from their gx-aves." 

News of the ever-memorable battles of Lexington and 
Bunker Hill had scarcely reached the wilderness-girt vale 
of Wyoming, before the patriots assembled in town meet- 
ing at Wilkesbarre, August 1st, 1775, and unanimously 
resolved to "join their brethren in America in the com- 
mon cause of defending their country." The whole popu- 
lation inhabiting the territory, now embraced within the 
counties of Luzerne, Wyoming, Susquehanna, and Brad- 
ford, then Westmoreland county in the state of Connecti- 
cut, numbered about two thousand five hundred souls. 
Of these, according to a list found among the papers of 
Colonel Z. Butler, sixty-one afterwards proved to be tories, 
chiefly from New York. Only three of them were from 
Connecticut. Among these tories six were of the family 
of the Wintermoots, four of the Secords, three Paulings, 
three Lannahays, four Van Alstyns, the remainder being 
laborers, hunters, and trappers. 

In 1776, several forts and stockades were commenced, 
and in August of the same year it was voted by the town 
meeting " That the people be called upon to work on the 
forts without either fee or reward from the town." At 
this time, the Wintermoots, not yet objects of suspicion, 
erected a fort, which, no doubt, was intended for the occu- 

(120) 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 121 



pation of the enemy, with whom they and others were in 
secret communication. 

On the 23d of the same month, Congress resolved to 
raise two independent companies in Westmoreland, osten- 
sibly for the jDrotection of the frontier, but, in reality, if 
necessary, to be withdrawn and embodied in the army 
under Washington. Robert Durkee and Samuel Ransom 
were appointed captains, the first to recruit on the east 
and the latter on the west side of the river. In a few 
weeks, both companies were full, numbering eighty-four 
men each.* 

In November following, Captain Weisner, of the New 
York line, came to Wyoming to recruit for a part of a rifle 
company. Obadiah Gore was appointed lieutenant, and 
carried away with him twenty enlisted men. About the 
same time, Captain Strong commenced recruiting for the 
Connecticut line ; John Jameson was appointed lieutenant, 
and marched away about twenty 'men. 

Washington was now retreating with his bleeding and 
destitute, but brave soldiers, through New Jersey, before 
the British under General Howe, and on the 23d of De- 
cember, Congress ordered the two independent companies, 
under Durkee and Ransom, to leave the valley, and join 
the American army. These patriotic soldiers, with their 
knapsacks on their backs, with rifles in their hands, and 
with tears in their eyes, bade farewell to wives and to 
little ones, to fathers and to mothers, and, with a quick 
but firm tread, marched away to the battle-field. 

" The wife whose babe first smiled that day, 
The fair fond bride of yester eve, 
An aged sire and matron gray. 
Saw the loved warriors haste away, 
And deemed it sin to grieve." 

* For list of names, see Appendix, D. 



122 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Some of these brave fellows perished before the can- 
non's mouth, some died of lingering disease, while others, 
returning in haste to defend their firesides, and without 
time to look upon the faces of the loved ones, fell in 
Wyoming's bloody fight. What a fatal error had been 
committed ! Upwards of two hundred young and vigor- 
ous men, the bulwark and hope of the valley, in time of 
war, in time of imminent danger, absent from their de- 
fenceless homes ! 

The two independent companies, with the detachments 
of Weisner and Strong, were united to the Connecticut 
line, under Colonel Zebulon Butler and Colonel John 
Durkee. They were in the battles of Bound Brook, 
Brandywine, Germantown, Millstone, and Mud Creek. 

At Millstone, in company with a body of militia, in all 
about three hundred men, under General Dickenson, they 
attacked four hundred British troops, captured forty 
wagons, one hundred horses, three field-pieces, a large 
quantity of provisions, nine prisoners, and killed and 
wounded several of the enemy. The Americans had 
several wounded, and Captain Ransom had one of his 
men, named Porter, killed. Captain Ransom sent one 
of the wagons to his farm in Wyoming, and Lieutenant 
Jameson sent home a fine English brood mare, taken in 
the engagement, from which sprang an excellent stock of 
horses, well known, many years ago, in Salem township. 

At Mud Creek these troops stood firm under a heavy 
fire, where one man, Constant Mathewson, was torn to 
pieces by a cannon-ball, and several were wounded. 

The handful of able-bodied men left at Wyoming, with 
the old men and boys, garrisoned the stockades and forts. 
They sent out scouting parties to watch the movements 
of strolling bands of Indians, who were occasionally seen 
during the time that General St. Leger was besieging 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 123 



Fort Stanwix. Several persons suspected of being tories 
were arrested and sent to Connecticut, but being liberated 
for want of sufficient proof, they immediately joined the 
Tor}'- Rangers, under Colonel John Butler, at Niagara. 
They, no doubt, acquainted him with the defenceless 
condition of afiairs at Wyoming. A small scouting party, 
under Lieutenant John Jenkins, were taken prisoners 
near Wyalusing, by a band of tories and Indians. An 
old man of the party, named Fitzgerald, was told he 
must join the king or die. He replied, he would rather 
die than desert his country. They let him go, but took 
Jenkins, York, and Fitch away to Canada, where they 
were liberated. These were the first prisoners taken from 
Wyoming. 

In the summer of 1777 the Six Nations of Indians, 
who had thus far taken no active part in the war, declared 
against the colonies. England, to her eternal disgrace, 
offered rewards to the merciless savage for the scalps of 
our ancestors, her own children, and with it commenced 
a border warfare, for butchery and blood, almost unparal- 
leled in the annals of any other country.* 

In December, 1777, the town meeting voted that the 
Committee of Inspection should be empowered to supply 
the wives and widows of soldiers and their families with 
the necessaries of life. In the spring of 1778, scouting 
parties of savages began to hover along the frontiers. 
Messages were sent to the absent companies, Congress 

* The number of Indians engaged by England during the war was, accord- 
ing to Campbell, twelve thousand six hundred and ninety warriors. Of this 
number one thousand five hundred and eighty belonged to the Six Nations, 
five hundred Delawares, three hundred Shawanese, one hundred and fifty 
Monseys, and sixty Mohicans, Of scalps, the Senecas alone, four hundred 
warriors, took one thousatid and fifty-two in three years, two hundred and 
ninety-nine being women, and twenty-nine infants. They were sent to the 
governor of Canada, to be sent as a present to the king of England. 



124 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



was apprised of the threatening danger, and was requested 
to order the return of the soldiers, but instead of this, 
that body resolved to raise a third company in Westmore- 
land, and commissioned Captain Dethick Hewitt for that 
purpose, with a view to protect the frontier settlers. 
Captain Hewitt collected about forty old and young men, 
with an imperfect supply of arms; but, it is manifest, 
this was no addition to the force of the settlement. 

In May, the first man was killed in Westmoreland by 
the Indians. William Crook, coming out of a house near 
Tunkhannock, which had been deserted by a tory named 
John Secord, was shot dead and scalped. In a few days 
thereafter a scouting party was fired into below Tunk- 
hannock, and Miner Robbing and Joel Philips were 
wounded. They escaped over the river in a canoe, but 
Bobbins died the next day. To lull the unprotected 
inhabitants of Wyoming into confiding security, and to 
spy out the land, two Indians and their wives were sent 
down the river in a canoe. They made great professions 
of friendship, but being suspected, an acquaintance treated 
one of them so well that in drunken confidence he re- 
vealed the true object of their visit. The two savages 
were confined in Forty Fort, but the squaws were per-, 
mitted to depart. 

Messages were again despatched to the absent comjDa- 
nies at Morristown. Congress and Connecticut were 
again urged to adopt immediate measures for the defence 
of the valley, but messengers and petitions implored in 
vain. Durkee and Ransom, with about thirty privates, 
most of them married men, with or without leave, stepped 
from the ranks and hastened away to meet the invaders, 
and to defend their firesides. The two companies thus 
reduced were, on the 23d of June, nine days before the 
massacre, merged into one company, and placed under 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 125 



the command of Simon Spaulding, second lieutenant in 
Ransom's company. Colonel Zebulon Butler, who com- 
manded one of the Connecticut regiments, procured leave 
of absence, and arrived in Wyoming just in time to take 
command of the American forces, and to prepare for the 
engagement. 

On the 30th of June Colonel John Butler, with his 
Tory Rangers, a detachment of Sir John Johnson's Royal 
Greens, and five hundred Indians, chiefly Senecas ana 
Cayugas, in all eight hundred men, descended the rive^ 
and landed on the west side, a short distance below the 
mouth of Bowman's Creek, in Wyoming county. They 
marched thence into Exeter township, encamping about 
three miles north of Fort Wintermoot. On the same day 
his Indian scouts attacked eight persons, who, not aware 
of the enemy's approach, had gone to work in a field not 
far from Fort Jenkins. James Hadsell, James Hadsell, 
Jr., Daniel and Stukely Harding were killed, John Gard- 
ner, Daniel Weller, and Daniel Carr were taken prison- 
ers, and John Harding, a boy, escaped. On the 1st of 
July the enemy advanced through a pass or gap in the 
Kingston Mountain, and took possession of Fort Winter- 
moot, the tories who bore that name now displaying their 
true colors. From this point they sent out scouts and 
parties to collect cattle and provisions. A flag was then 
sent down demanding the surrender of Forty Fort, which 
was promptly refused. 

On the morning of the 3d of July, the British Butler 
was informed that the Americans were preparing to ad- 
vance and to give him battle. Whereupon he laid aside 
his regimental dress for a less conspicuous suit, and wrap- 
ped a black handkerchief about his head. He now pro- 
ceeded to make ready for the conflict, and by two o'clock 
in the afternoon his forces were regularly stationed. His 



126 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



left wing extended from Fort Wintermoot, resting on the 
river bank, and was composed of his own rangers and the 
Royal Greens, commanded by himself. His right wing, 
composed of Indians and tories, occupied a swamp, and 
was led by Gucingerachton, He wJxo goes in the Smoke. 
Thayendanegea, alias Joseph Brant, the celebrated Mo- 
hawk chief, was not in this engagement. 

The plain, upon which the battle was fought, was 
sparsely covered with shrub oaks and yellow pine trees, 
among which were the British regulars, while in the 
thickets of the swamp, close to the ground, lay the bands 
of savage warriors, and the more savage tories, like so 
many blood-thirsty tigers, eagerly watching for their 
prey. 

We proceed, now, to a brief statement of the condition, 
position, and numbers of the Americans. Fort Jenkins, 
which was nothing more than a single dwelling-house, 
enclosed by stockades, was occupied by three old men 
and a few women and children. The Pittston stockades 
contained all the women and children of that neighbor- 
hood, with about thirty men, under Captain Blanchard, 
for protection and assistance, in case flight should become 
necessary. In Wilkesbarre there were many women and 
children, with only a handful of men. Hanover and Ply- 
mouth were in the same situation. Those of Kingston 
had been assembled at Forty Fort, with the great body 
of fighting men, in whom centered the afiections and 
hopes of aged fathers and mothers, and of hundreds of 
wives and children. 

Forty Fort stood a short distance below the site of the 
Forty Fort Church, about eighty feet from the river. It 
covered half an acre of ground. It shape was that of a 
parallelogram, fortified by stockades, which were logs set 
in the ground five feet deep, and extending twelve feet 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 127 



above, sharpened at the top. Its joints were covered by 
other stockades, which rendered the barrier of nearly 
double thickness. There was a gateway at each end, and 
a sentry-box at each corner. 

The whole American force consisted of about three 
hundred, and were divided into six companies, as follows : — 

1st. Captain Dethick Hewitt's company, composed of 
forty men (regulars). 

2d. Captain Asaph Whittlesey's company, from Ply- 
mouth, forty-four men. 

3d. Captain Lazarus Stewart's company, from Hanover, 
forty men. 

4th. Captain James Bidlack's company, from Lower 
Wilkesbarre, thirty-eight men. 

5th. Captain Rezin Geer's company, from Upper Wilkes- 
barre, thirty men. 

6th. Captain Aholiab Buck's company, from Kingston, 
forty-four men. 

In addition to these were those in the train bands, the 
judges of the courts, and all the civil officers, old men 
and boys, to the number of about seventy. 

A council of war was assembled at Forty Fort, to 
decide upon the policy of meeting the enemy in the open 
field. One party, with the hope of being reinforced, 
advocated delay. The reinforcements they expected, or 
rather hojDed for, were Captain Spaulding, with the 
remainder of the independent companies, and Captain 
John Franklin, with about twenty-five men, from Hunt- 
ington. 

The other side favored prompt action, declaring the 
enemy would besiege the fort with their regulars, and as 
their provisions were short, an early surrender would be 
inevitable. In the meanwhile, the Indians would sweep 
over the valley, murder the women and children, drive 



128 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



off the cattle, destroj^ all the grain, and burn all the 
buildings. The better course appeared to be to march out 
and meet the foe, hand to hand, in the open field, and such 
was the decision of the council. 

" But oh alas ! three hundred men ! 
Was much too small a band, 
To meet eight hundred men complete, 
And make a glorious stand." 

The 3d of July, 1778, was a bloody day for Wyoming. 
Advancing, in good order, to a point near the present 
village of Wyoming, the Americans formed in line of 
battle. The right wing, commanded by Colonel Zebulon 
Butler, aided by Major Garrett, pushed forward with 
steady step against the British Butler and his Rangers, 
while the left, commanded by Colonel Nathan Denison, 
aided by Colonel George Dorrance, attacked the Indians 
in the swamp. The action commenced about three 
o'clock in the afternoon. Volley after volley rolled along 
the contending lines until they were enveloped in a cloud 
of smoke, while the flames from Fort Wintermoot, set on 
fire by order of the British commander, curled and flashed 
towards the sky, above the "war clouds rolling dun." 
The American right, steadily advancing and pouring 
showers of lead into the ranks of the Royal Greens and 
Rangers, was on the very threshold of victory, when the 
tide of battle turned. The left wing, contending against 
savages concealed in thick underbrush, stood its ground 
manfully until, unperceived, the red foe gained its rear. 
Then " rose from earth to sky" those appalling shouts 
and yells, which the fierce Indian gives when the pros- 
pect of victory i's rising to his view. Five hundred Indians, 
armed with rifles, hatchets, and spears, in front and rear, 
now bore down on the one hundred and fifty men com- 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 129 



posing the American left. " Stand up to your work, sir," 
said Colonel Dorrance to a soldier who seemed to falter, 
and the next moment the colonel fell, pierced by more 
than one ball. 

" The enemy have attacked our rear, shall we retreat, 

sir?" said a lieutenant to Captain Hewitt ; " I'll be d d 

if I do ;" was the reply, and instantly fell at the head of 
his little band. 

Colonel Denison now directed his men to fall back, 
with a view to regaining their lost position, and placing 
the enemy in front ; but the command was mistaken for 
an order to retreat, and the flight soon became general. 

" We are almost alone," said an officer named West- 
brook; "shall we go?" 'Til have one more shot," said 
Mr. Cooper. At this instant a muscular Indian rushed 
upon him. 

" That moment was fearful, and mightier foe 
Had ne'er swung the battle-axe o'er him, 
When hope nerved his arm for a desperate blow. 
And the savage fell prostrate before him." 

Some fled to the fort, while others, hard pressed by the 
barbarous Senecas and tories, rushed headlong into the 
river. Elijah Shoemaker, unable to swim, was wading 
in the water, when Win decker, a tory, called to him, 
" Come out, I will protect you." The confiding, generous- 
hearted man, whose hospitality Windecker had often 
shared, approached the shore, when this fiend in human 
shape, reaching with one hand as if to aid him, with the 
other dashed out his brains with a hatchet. The lifeless 
body of Shoemaker fell back into the water. 

A patriot named Pencil reached Monockonock, the 
bloody island, and concealed himself in the underbrush, 
but being discovered by his tory brother, he came forth 



130 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



from his hiding-place, expecting mercy and protection. 
" Save ni}^ hfe, brother, and I will serve you all my 

days." " Ah ! save you ! You are a d d rebel;" and, 

drawing his rifle to his shoulder, he fired and left his 
brother weltering in his blood.* 

Captain Bidlack was captured, and was thrown, alive, 
and held down by a pitchfork upon the burning logs of 
Fort Wintermoot. Sixteen prisoners were placed in a 
circle around " the bloody rock" which stands between 
the village of Wyoming and the river. Each was held 
by stout Indians, while Queen Esther, who stood upon 
the rock, dashed out their brains one by one with a toma- 
hawk. Hammond and Elliott, making desperate efforts, 
escaped amidst a shower of balls. Nine others, in a like 
circle, on what is now the Fair Ground, met death, as 
did the fourteen under the blows of Queen Esther. 
"Among those thus murdered," says Mr. David Stafford, 
" was a lad by the name of William Buck — a school-mate 



* The particulars of this shocking incident are thus given in an extract 
from the journal of a brigade chaplain in Sullivan's army, vrho made the 
entry, July 8th, 1779, at Wyoming : — 

"On a small island in the Susquehanna, below the field of "action, Giles 
Slocum, having reached thus far in safety, concealed himself in the bushes, 
where he was witness to the meeting of John and Henry Pencil — John, a 
tory, Henry, a whig. Henry, having lost his gun, upon seeing his brother, 
John, fell upon his knees and begged him to spare his life. Upon which 

John called him a d d rebel. John then went deliberately to a log, got 

on the same, and began to load his piece, while Henry was upon his knees 
imploring him as a brother not to kill him. ' I will, I will,' said he, ' go with 
you and serve you as long as I live, if you will spare my life.' John loaded 
his gun. Henry continued, " You won't kill your brother, will you ?' ' Yes,' 

replied the monster, ' I will as soon as look at you. You are a d d rebel.' 

He then shot him, and afterwards went up and struck him four or five times 
with a tomahawk, and scalped him. Immediately after one of the enemy 
coming to him said, 'What have you been doing? have you killed your bro- 
ther ?' ' Yes,' said he, ' for he is a d d rebel.' The other replied, ' I have 

a great mind to serve you in the same manner.' They then went ofi" together, 
and in the evening Slocum made his escape. Slocum is a man of reputation, 
and his word was never disputed in the neighborhood where he was known." 



THE REVOLUTIONARY T7AR. 131 



of mine — a fine little fellow as ever lived, very neat and 
clean and tidy, who on account of his ^^outh was not 
held down. This boy, when he saw what the queen was 
at, became frightened and sprang to his feet and ran. 
But a swift Indian soon overtook him and was leading 
him back, when another' Indian stepped behind him and 
laid his head open with a tomahawk. They laid him in 
the circle." 

" The sun went down, nor ceased the carnage there, 
Tumultuous murder shook the midnight air.'' 

Spectators, standing upon the opposite shore of the 
river, saw naked men forced around the burning stake 
with spears, and heard their heart-rending shrieks and 
dying groans. All night long there was a revel in blood, 
and in the fumes of burning human flesh. Not until the 
morning light did they cease their demoniac orgies for 
want of victims. The sun never shed his rays on a 
bloodier field. From Wintermoot's to Forty Fort, the 
broad plain was strewn with the dead and mangled 
bodies of one hundred and sixty-one brave men, who 
perished in a conflict which no resource of art and courage 
of soul on their part could render equal. 

Among the interesting incidents of this bloody day, 
we will not omit to mention the case of Samuel Carey, a 
youth about nineteen years of age. He was in Captain 
Bidlack's company, and was one of the few prisoners 
taken at the massacre. He was captured by Captain 
Eoland Montour, an Indian, who led him to a young war- 
rior, who had been wounded and was dying. He asked 
him if Carey should be slain, or if he should be conveyed 
to his father and mother to be adopted into their family 
in his stead. The young warrior, with expiring breath, 
requested that he should be received into his father's 



132 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



family in his place. Carey was then painted and received 
the dying Indian's name, Coconeunquo ; and when he 
reached the Indian country, was taken and adopted as 
previously arranged. At times he suffered severely for 
want of food, and after a captivity of six years returned 
to Wyoming in safety. 

After the battle. Forty Fort was occupied by Colonel 
Denison with a handful of weary, worn, and wounded 
men, together with the Kingston women and children. 
Colonel Z. Butler, being a soldier of the Continental 
army, and fifteen regulars — the remainder of Captain 
Hewitt's company — left, the valley. Colonel Butler re- 
tired to Gnadenhutten ; and the soldiers to Fort Augusta, 
to avoid being made prisoners of war. The women and 
children of the Lackawanna valley fled towards the 
upper settlements on the Delaware ; those of Pittston 
and Wilkesbarre toiled over mountains and through the 
great swamp to the lower settlements ; while those of 
Hanover, Plymouth, and Newport, escaped to Fort 
Augusta. No pen can describe the sufferings of these 
men, women, and children, who, while they themselves 
were wandering, almost naked and faint with hunger, 
through a desolate wilderness, were tortured with the 
painful reflection that the bodies of their fathers, brothers, 
sons, and husbands, lay mutilated and unburied on the 
plains they were leaving behind them. When the fugitives 
reached the nearest settlements, sixty miles distant, and 
related the dreadful tale of Wyoming's overthrow, and 
their own terrible sufferings, a panic seized the inhabit- 
ants, who also joined in the retreat, with their personal 
goods, towards the more populous portions of the state. 
There were no troops to defend Fort Augusta, or the 
military posts on the Delaware ; of course the whole 
frontier lay open to the ravages of the enemy. Captain 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 133 



Spaulding, who was advancing with his company to aid 
in defending the valley, met the flying fugitives on the 
mountains, and returned to Stroudsburg. 

On the morning of the 4th of July, Colonel John But- 
ler, with his troops and Indians, surrounded Forty Fort, 
and demanded its surrender, which was to be uncondi- 
tional for Colonel Z. Butler and the soldiers of the Con- 
tinental army. As the prudent Butler and his regulars 
had retired from the valley, the demand had no force as 
to them ; but Colonel Denison made an honorable capitu- 
lation of the fort. " By the articles of capitulation," says 
Stone, " it was mutually agreed that the inhabitants of 
the settlement should lay down their arms, the fort be 
demolished,, and the Continental stores be delivered up. 
The inhabitants of the settlement were to be permitted 
to occupy their farms, peaceably and without molestation 
of their persons. The loyalists were to be allowed to re- 
main in undisturbed possession of their farms, and to trade 
without interruption. Colonel Denison and the inhabit- 
ants stipulated not again to take up arms during the con- 
test; and Colonel John Butler agreed to use his utmost 
influence to cause the private property of the inhabitants 
to be respected. But the last-mentioned stipulation was 
entirely unheeded by the Indians, who were not, and per- 
haps could not be, restrained from the work of rapine and 
plunder. The surrender had no sooner taken place, than 
they spread themselves through the valley. Every house 
not belonging to a loyalist was plundered and laid in 
ashes." Wilkesbarre was set on fire and consumed. The 
men and women in Forty Fort were stripped of every- 
thing, and some of theni had even the clothing taken from 
their backs. Colonel Denison was not more respected 
than others ; for he was compelled to draw ofl" his hunt- 
ing-shirt, and hand it to a ferocious savage. 



13-1 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



The wholesale murderess, and disgusting squaw, Queen 
Esther, rode away mounted on a stolen side-saddle, placed 
hind side before, on the back of a stolen horse, with half 
a dozen bonnets placed one within the other on her head. 
She carried in her hand a stick on which seventeen 
scalps were suspended, and which she held up to the gaze 
of the whites. Colonel Denison remonstrated against 
these outrageous violations of the articles of capitulation, 
but Butler answered it was not in his power to prevent 
them. The work of destruction and plunder being com- 
pleted, the invaders left Wyoming on the 7th of July, by 
the way of the Lackawanna Valley. During this march 
Butler wrote and dispatched to the British colonel, Bolton, 
a report of the infamous doings of himself and his band 
of murderers. The document is dated " Lackawanna, 
July 8th, 1778," and states his force to be five hundred 
men, whereas it was eight hundred ; that he had one 
Indian and two rangers killed, and eight Lidians wounded, 
whereas upwards of sixty were buried in the swamp, near 
the battle-field ; that two hundred and twenty-seven scalps 
had been taken, whereas only one hundred and sixty-one 
Americans were killed; that five prisoners were taken 
and saved alive, whereas they were all put to death 
except two. " We have taken," says he, " eight palisades, 
six forts, burned One thousand dwelling-houses, and all 
their mills, &c. ; and also killed and drove off one thousand 
head of horned cattle and sheep ;" all of which is greatly 
exaggerated, especially the number of dwellings, which 
did not exceed three hundred and fifty in the whole valley. 
The report closes with an extravagant eulogium on the 
conduct of his officers and men ! ! 

By order of General De Hass, a small company of men 
were sent to, garrison Fort Augusta, in July, and on the 
24 th of the same month, one major, two captains, and 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 13-5 



eighty men were stationed at Briar Creek, below Berwick. 
On the 1st of August, Colonel Thomas Hartley, of the 
Pennsylvania line, a brave and most judicious officer, 
arrived at Fort Augusta with two hundred men. By his 
orders Captain Walker erected Fort Jenkins, five miles 
below Berwick, which fortification the marvellous Moses 
Van Campen says he built in the May preceding ! Cap- 
tain Walker also erected Fort Muncy on the West Branch 
of the Susquehanna, which Van Campen, in his narrative, 
likewise claims was built by himself Besides these. 
Walker built Fort Freedley, on the North Branch below 
Bloomsburg, and another on the Chillisquaque Creek. 

On the 4th of August, Colonel Z. Butler returned to 
Wyoming with Captain Spaulding's company, consisting 
of twenty regulars and forty militiamen. They proceeded 
to erect Fort Wilkesbarre on the site of the old fort and 
court-house in the public square. A number of the male 
inhabitants of the valley now visited it, with the hope of 
gathering some remnants of the harvest, and to prepare 
for the return of their families, who were quartered 
among: friends in Connecticut, and other secure settle- 



ments 



On the 7th of August, the Supreme Executive Council 
of Pennsylvania, in an address to the Assembly, declare, 
among other things, as follows : " The late fatal catas- 
trophe which has befallen the Connecticut settlers on the 
river Susquehanna, deplorable as it is, recollects the dis- 
puted footing on which these sufferers stood. Compassion 
for them, as well as justice to this state, require that 
they be reminded of the precarious nature of their tenure 
before they re-establish themselves." 

Soon after the arrival of Colonel Butler and Captain 
Spaulding, John Abbott and Isaac Williams were shot 
and scalped on Jacob's Plains, while working in a field. 



136 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Isaac Tripp, Isaac Tripp, Jr., Messrs. Keys and Hocksey, 
were captured near what is now Scranton. On the road 
to Oquago, Keys and Hocksey were led aside by the 
savages and murdered. 

On the 24th of August, Luke S wetland and Joseph 
Blanchard were captured at Nanticoke, and hurried away 
into captivity. 

Colonel Hartley had projected an expedition into the 
Indian country, and with this view he assembled his forces 
at Fort Muncy. Here he was joined by Captain Spauld- 
ing and his few regulars. While these preparations were 
being made, the stealthy savages perpetrated several 
murders on the west branch of the Susquehanna, and 
almost under the guns of Fort Muncy. On the 21st of 
September, Colonel Hartley, having perfected his arrange- 
ments, at the head of two hundred men marched out from 
the fort. "In our route," says he, "we met with great 
rains, prodigious swamps, mountains, defiles, and rocks, 
impeding our march. We waded and swam the river 
Lycoming upwards of twenty times." They marched 
into the very heart of the enemy's country, destroyed 
Queen Esther's town, and put the savages to flight in 
several engagements. On his return march. Colonel 
Hartley was attacked below Wyalusing by two hundred 
Indians, whom he routed with the loss of fifteen killed 
and thirty wounded, while his own loss was four killed 
and ten wounded. Arriving at Wyoming, he found 
Colonel Butler with a small force in possession of the fort 
at Wilkesbarre. The day after his arrival, four soldiers 
crossed the river to dig potatoes, when they were fired 
upon by a party of Indians in ambush. Three of them 
were instantly killed and scalped. Colonel Hartley left 
one hundred men to reinforce Butler, and proceeding down 
the river, arrived at Fort Augusta on the 5th of October. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 137 



A few days after his departure from the valley, on the 
14th of October, William Jameson, who had been wounded 
in the battle, was waylaid by savages, two miles below 
Wilkesbarre, shot and scalped, but lived two days, though 
having lost a portion of his brains. 

In his report Colonel Hartley mentioned in the highest 
terms the conduct of officers and men. In two weeks he 
had marched three hundred miles, laid waste the Queen's 
town, taken twenty-six canoes, and fifty-one head of 
horses and cattle, and defeated the Indians in numerous 
skirmishes. 

On the 22d of October, nearly four months after the battle 
of Wyoming, the citizens, guarded by the soldiers, assem- 
bled on the bloody field to bury the remains of the dead. 

" Their limbs iinburied on the naked shore, 
Devouring wolves and hungry vultures tore." 

A long deep trench was dug, in which were deposited 
all that remained of as brave a band of patriots as ever 
faced a foe. 

On the 2d of November, three Indians stealthily 
approached the house of Jonathan Slocum, not more than 
one hundred rods from Fort Wilkesbarre. They shot 
and scalped a boy, Nathan^ Kingsley, who was at the door. 
Entering the house, one of them seized Ebenezer Slocum, 
and was about to carry him off", when Mrs. Slocum said, 
" He can do you no good, he is lame." Releasing the boy, 
he took up Frances, her daughter, a child about five years 
of age, and with the brother of the murdered Kingsley, 
accompanied by the other Indians and a black girl of 
Mrs. Slocum's, he took his departure. This colored girl 
was afterwards sold to Colonel John Butler, and kept in 
his family as a servant at Niagara. 

In August, 1837, John W. Forney, Esq., was placed 



138 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



in possession of a letter, written by G. W. Ewing, of 
Logansport, Indiana, dated January 20th, 1835. This 
letter had been sent to Lancaster, Pa., for publication, 
but the person who received it died soon after, and being 
found by his widow among his papers, it was handed to 
Mr. Forney, who gave it publicity through the columns 
of his newspaper. The letter says : " There is now 
living near this place, among the Miami tribe of Indians, 
an aged white woman who, a few days ago, told me that 
she was taken away from her father's house, on or near 
the Susquehanna river, when she was very young. She 
says her father's name was Slocum; that he was a Quaker, 
and wore a large-brimmed hat ; that he lived about half 
a mile from a town where there was a fort. She has two 
daughters living. Her husband is dead. She is old and 
feeble, and thinks she shall not live long. These con- 
siderations induced her to give the present history of 
herself, which she never would before, fearing her kindred 
would come and force her away. She has lived long and 
happy as an Indian; is very respectable and wealthy, 
sober and honest. Her name is without reproach." This 
letter, as a matter of course, awakened great interest, and 
her brothers, Joseph Slocum, Esq., late of Wilkesbarre, 
and Isaac Slocum, of Ohio, repaired to Logansport, w^here 
they fortunately met Mr. Ewing. The lost sister, receiv- 
ing notice of their arrival, came to Logansport on horse- 
back, accompanied by her two daughters, all dressed in 
fine Indian costume. Frances, before her captivity, had 
received a blow on her finger in the smithshop, which 
crushed the bone, and when the brothers saw the wounded 
hand they embraced her and burst into tears. She related 
the leading events of her life. She stated she had been 
adopted into an Indian family, and had been kindly 
treated. She said young Kingsley had died after a few 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 



139 




FRANCES SLOCUM, 



years. When grown up she had married a chief, and her 
Indian name was Maconaquah, Young Bear. In subse- 
quent years she was again visited by her brothers, and 
by other members of the family. A life-size portrait of 
her was painted, and is now in possession of the family. 
Congress passed a resolution exempting her, her family, 
and several of her friends, from the obligation to remove 
from her old home, with the rest of the Indians, to the 
far west. She lived long and happily, and died in hope 
of a blessed immortality. 



140 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



November 7th, 1778, the Indians killed and scalped 
John Perkins in Plymouth. At Nanticoke they took 
Jackson and Lester prisoners, whence they led them to 
the mountains and put them to death. 

November 9tli, Captain Carr and Philip Goss were shot 
in a canoe, below Wapwallopen Creek, and about the 
same timo Robert, Alexander, and Amos Parker were 
found dead, and scalped, in the lower part of the valley. 
In the same month Isaac Inman, who was hunting wild 
turkeys in Hanover, was shot and scalped, but his body 
was not found until the following spring. On the 19th of 
November a band of savages crossed the river, opposite 
Shickshinny, and murdered the whole Utley family. 
They set the house on fire, recrossed the river, and escaped 
through Huntington. 

December 16th, William Slocum and Isaac Tripp were 
shot and scalped within sight of Fort Wilkesbarre, and 
with this ended the prolonged and horrible tragedies of 
1778. 

But the winter months had scarcely passed away, be- 
fore the savages resumed their depredatory visits to Wyo- 
ming. March 21st, 1779, Captain James Bidlack, father 
of the Captain Bidlack who was killed in the battle of 
July 3d of the previous year, was seized and carried away 
into captivity. He was taken at his residence in Ply- 
mouth. Same day a band of twenty-five Indians appeared 
on the Kingston flats, in sight of Fort Wilkesbarre. They 
were attacked by a party from the fort, when they began 
slowly to retreat, driving before them about sixty head 
of cattle. But the savages were defeated in their object 
to draw our people into an ambush. On the 23d of 
March they displayed their whole force, amounting to 
two hundred and fifty Indians and tories. They attacked 
Fort Wilkesbarre, when the old four-pounder was brought 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 141 



to bear upon them. It carried death and terror mto their 
ranks. Among others their chief was slain, when the 
survivors betook themselves to inglorious flight. But as 
they fled they burned three houses and the same number 
of barns. During the same month Elihu Williams, Ste- 
phen Pettebone, Lieutenant Buck, and Frederick Follet 
were surrounded by twenty savages, on the Kingston 
plains. The first three were killed and scalped. Follet 
was pierced with a spear in no less than seven places, one 
wound letting out a portion of his entrails. He was also 
tomahawked and scalped. In this condition he was found 
and carried to the fort, where, under the skillful attend- 
ance of Dr. W. Hooker Smith, he finally recovered. 

General Washington had determined to send a force 
into the Indian country, sufficient at one blow to break 
up the savage haunts where these barbarities were planned, 
and the depredators were harbored. To this end Colonel 
Broadhead, with seven hundred men, was sent into West- 
em Pennsylvania, and effectually chastised the enemy. 
General Clinton, with one thousand men, was ordered to 
advance from the Hudson to Tioga. General Sullivan 
was ordered to rendezvous at Easton. From this poin 
he sent a German regiment of three hundred men tc 
reinforce Colonel Butler, and on the 19th of April Major 
Powell arrived at Wyoming, with an additional force of 
two hundred and fifty men. When Powell's advance 
arrived on the mountain, about four miles east of Fort 
Wilkesbarre, a considerable body of Indians, in ambush, 
fired a volley into their ranks, and instantly fled. Captain 
Davis, Lieutenant Jones, Corporal Butler, and three pri- 
vates were killed. 

On the 18th of June, General Sullivan marched with 
the main body of his army from Easton, and on the 23d 
arrived at Wyoming, and encamped below Wilkesbarre. 



142 ANNALS OF LFZERNE COUNTY. 



He cut a road over the mountains via Wind Gap, 
Pokono, Great Swamp, and Bear Creek. At the spot 
where Davis and Jones fell, two boards had been set up 
with their names inscribed upon them. As the army 
passed by, Colonel Proctor, from respect for the dead, 
ordered the bands to play the tune of Roslin Castle. 
During the encampment of the army in the valley, pre- 
paratory to their march for Tioga, the Indians were active 
in all directions. Two hundred and fifty attacked Fort 
Freedley, near Bloomsburg, where Captain Boon and others 
were slain. Brant, at the head of his warriors, attacked 
and laid the whole Minisink settlement in ruins. Others 
committed depredations along the Lehigh, and even within 
three miles of the army. 

On the 31st of July, at the head of three thousand 
men, General Sullivan, breaking up his camp at "Wyo- 
ming, began his march up the river. Accompanying the 
troops were three hundred boats laden with provisions, 
cannon, and munitions of war, and following in the train 
were many hundreds of pack-horses. The whole ad- 
vanced in admirable order, and presented a most imposing 
spectacle. On the 11th of August the army arrived at 
Tioga, where it was soon joined by General Clinton. 
General Clinton had dammed the waters from Otsego 
Lake, by which he had formed an artificial flood, upon 
the bosom of which he floated his troops in three hun- 
dred boats, a distance of one hundred miles to the place 
of union. From Tioga, Sullivan and Clinton advanced 
to a point near what is now Elmira, New York, where 
they met and defeated Colonel John Butler, with all his 
forces. They burnt and destroyed the Indian villages, 
their orchards and crops, and spread fire and ruin through- 
out the whole territory of the Six Nations. 

On the 13th of September, Lieutenant Thomas Boyd, 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 143 



of the rifle corps, in command of twenty-four men, left 
the main army to reconnoitre. At Little Castle, on the 
Genesee river, he surprised, killed, and scalped two In- 
dians. '"'On his return," says Miner, "Boyd was sur- 
rounded by a strong detachment of the enemy, who killed 
fourteen of his men, and took him and a soldier prisoners, 
eight only escaping. The next day the army accelerated 
its march, with the hope of releasing Lieutenant Boyd. 
On arriving at the Genesee Castle his remains, and those 
of the other prisoner, were found surrounded by all the 
horrid evidences of savage barbarity. The torture-fires 
were yet burning. Flaming pine-knots had been thrust 
into their flesh, their finger nails pulled out, their tongues 
cut off, and their heads severed from their bodies. It is 
said that Boyd was brought before Colonel Butler, who 
examined him, Boyd being on one knee, a warrior on 
each side firmly grasping his arms, a third at his back 
with a tomahawk raised. What a scene for a limner ! 
' How many men has Sullivan ?' ' I cannot tell you, sir.' 
' How is the army disposed and divided ?' ' I cannot give 
3^ou any information, sir.' ' Boyd, life is sweet, you had 
better answer me.' ^ Duty forbids, and I would not, if 
life depended on the word ; but. Colonel Butler, I know 
the issue, my doom is fixed.' "* 

October 8th. Sullivan's army returned to Wyoming. 
After resting two days it marched on the 10th, and on 
the 15 th encamped at Easton. 

Captain Spaulding's independent company, and a com- 
pany of militia under John Franklin, accompanied Sulli- 
van's army into the Indian country. Colonel Z. Butler 
remained at home in command of the garrison at Fort 

* Lieutenant Boyd was a brother of Colonel John Boyd of Northumber- 
land, who commanded a regiment during the Revolutionary war. 



144 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Wilkesbarre, and, after Sullivan's departure for Easton, 
with the companies of Spaulding and Franklin, continued 
to defend the frontier from a general attack. The sav- 
ages, however, made incursions in small parties, and on 
the 27th day of March, 1780, Thomas Bennett and his 
son were captured at Kingston and taken to the moun- 
tains, where they found Labbeus Hammond tied to a tree. 
This is the same Hammond who had escaped from the 
bloody Queen Esther's tomahawk at the massacre. He 
had been taken only a few hours before, and now, with 
the Bennetts, he was marched off towards Tioga. At 
Meshoppen the Indians rested for the night. Here, when 
deep sleep had fallen on the weary party, Bennett ran 
one of his captors through with a spear, killing him with- 
out noise. He then unloosed Hammond and his son, and, 
with their aid, killed four more of the savages, wounded 
another, and one escaped unharmed. The next day the 
victorious captives returned to Wyoming. 

March 28th. Asa Upson and Jonah Rogers were 
making sugar a short distance above the mouth of Hun- 
lock's Creek, when a party of ten Indians rushed down 
from the mountain, killed and scalped Upson, and took 
Rogers prisoner. Thence they proceeded to Fishing 
Creek, near Orangeville. Here they took Moses Van 
Campen, his father, and Peter Pence, prisoners. They 
killed and scalped old Mr. Van Campen, and then 
set off through Huntington, where Captain John Frank- 
lin, with four men, gave them battle, but was compelled 
to retire. On the head waters of Hunlock's Creek, in 
Ross township, they found Abraham Pike and his wife 
boiling sugar. The Indians wrapped Mrs. Pike's child 
in a blanket and threw it on the roof of the cabin. Tak- 
ing Pike and wife with the other prisoners, thej^ hastened 
forward. After proceeding about two miles, an old chief 



THE REVOLUTIONARY TTAR. 145 



painted Mrs. Pike, saying "Joggo squaw" — go home,%voman. 
She returned, got her child, and went to Wilkesbarre. 
Arriving at the Susquehanna, below Tioga, on the first 
day of April, they encamped for the night. " Pike," says 
Mr. Rogers, in his account, " fji^op^^^d to kill the Indians. 
The prisoners were all pinioned but myself, and it was 
agreed that I should procure a knife, which I did. Pike 
cut himself loose, and while the Indians were sleeping he 
took away their guns, and then cut the other men loose. 
One Indian awakened, and immediately Pence fired at 
him. Major Van Campen took a hatchet and killed two 
Indians before they rose, the rest ran. The prisoners all 
escaped, and arrived safely in Wilkesbarre." Jonah 
Rogers was thirteen years of age, and was known as a 
person of truth. His statement conflicts materially with 
that of Van Campen, who says all the Indians were 
killed, chiefly by his own hand, and that Pike was an 
arrant coward.* We have already found Van Campen's 
stories of other matters to be erroneous, and we are dis- 
posed to receive the account of Rogers as unqualifiedly 
true. 

March 30th. Three men, Avery, Lyons, and Jones, 
were taken prisoners, near what is now Scranton, and in 
April the settlement of Mahony, near Mauch Chunk, was 
attacked, when the Gilbert family, together with Abigail 
Dodson and some others, in all fifteen persons, were car- 
ried away captive. The trials and sufierings of this party 
would form a most interesting chapter. 

In September, 1780, a party of Indians crossed the 
Susquehanna near Nescopeck, and entered Scotch, now 
Sugarloaf Valley, where they attacked a company of 
thirty-three men under Captain Myers, took thirteen 
scalps, and all the survivors were made prisoners. They 
then burnt several buildings, and escaped to Niagara. 

-^ * See Note on p. 155. 



146 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



In December, the house of Benjamin Harvey, in Ply- 
mouth, was stormed, and Elisha Harvey, G. P. Ransom, 
Lucy Harvey, and Rachel Bullock were taken prisoners. 
On the mountain the girls were painted and allowed to 
go, but Harvey and Ransom were conveyed to Canada. 
There the savages sold Harvey to a French trader for six 
gallons of whiskey. Ransom, with other prisoners cap- 
tured in various parts of the states, was confined in the 
fortress at Montreal, but an opportunity presenting, 
thirty-two of them escaped in the night. They were all 
drowned in the St. Lawrence in their flight, except Ran- 
som, who, aided by a board, reached the opposite shore. 
Directing his steps homeward, he traveled several days 
through the wilderness, eating mice and snakes to sustain 
life, and finally reached Wyoming in an exhausted con- 
dition. 

March 10th, 1781, Samuel Ransom's house, in Plymouth, 
was attacked hy Indians, but meeting with resistance, and 
having one of their number killed, they retreated. 

June 19th. Indians attempted to storm a block-house 
two miles below Wilkesbarre, but were repulsed. 

September 7th. The savages attacked Hanover settle- 
ment, and captured Arnold Franklin and Roswell Frank- 
lin, Jr. In April, 1782, Roswell Franklin's house was 
aojain attacked, and his wife with several of the vounsrer 
children were carried away. Baldwin and nine others 
went up the river, got ahead of the savages, and on the 
Frenchtown Mountain had a severe engagement with 
them. They succeeded in retaking three of the family, 
but Mrs. Franklin and her small child were killed. 

July 8th, 1782, John Jameson, his brother Benjamin a 
boy, and Asa Chapman were riding horseback towards 
Wilkesbarre. Having approached near the site of the 
German church in Hanover, they were fired upon by eight 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 141 



Indians concealed in ambush. John Jameson fell from 
his horse, was scalped and left dead in the road. 
Chapman was wounded, but clinging to his horse 
escaped to Wilkesbarre, where he died the next day. 
Benjamin's horse, wheeling suddenly about, carried him 
back in safety to his home. On that day, the last 
blood was shed, and the last scalp taken, by Indians, 
within the present limits of Luzerne county. Encouraged 
by rewards, offered by England for scalps, the merciless 
savage tore the ' flesh and spilt the blood of the frontier 
settlers, with an eagerness and boldness which the love 
of revenge could scarcely inspire. Down to the moment 
when the articles of peace were signed, the Indian was 
busily engaged in bartering scalps for the gold of Chris- 
tian England. 

We read of the burning of Moscow, and the disastrous 
retreat of the French 5 of the siege of Londonderry and 
the starvation of its inhabitants ; of earthquakes shaking 
down and swallowing up whole cities, and of huge steam- 
ships freighted with hundreds of precious lives engulfed 
in the stormy bosom of the ocean ; and our minds are 
appalled and stunned by the magnitude of the catastrophe : 
but to live month after month, and year after year, in 
constant dread of the rifle and the scalping-knife ; to see 
or hear constantly of some horrible deed perpetrated on 
neighbors ; this is more than appalling — it is protracted 
torture of soul. The inhabitants of Wyoming suffered 
the horrors of war from 1768 until 1776 in rather its 
milder form, but during the Revolution no people ever 
met with greater disasters. Upwards of two hundred 
and thirty men, women, and children were murdered 
and scalped by Indians. About fifty others were carried 
away into captivity, and eight or ten more were burnt 
alive*. They suffered from hunger, and cold, and disease. 



148 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



and iinpri':onments, and bondage, and floods, and fire; and 
yet, true to their purpose, they never thought for a mo- 
ment of abandoning their charming valley. Nor were 
they selfish in their aims. They loved, loved dearly the 
cause of liberty, and contributed more than any other 
people in America, in proportion to their numbers and 
wealth, to sustain the cause of the colonies against the 
tyranny of the British crown. The first settlers of 
Luzerne paid a great price, and passed through the 
severest ordeal, that the land might be free, and that you 
and I and coming generations might enjoy unmolested 
the blessings of civil and religious liberty. Let us prize 
the great gift, let us honor the memory of those who suf- 
fered and died to procure it, and let us cherish it and 
defend it, and transmit it unimpaired to those who shall 
stand in our places when we are gathered to our fathers. 

REVOLUTIONARY PENSIONERS. 

On the 4th of September, 1832, fifty years after the 
Revolution, thirty-one soldiers, residents of Luzerne 
county, who had served various terms during that war, 
assembled at the court-house in Wilkesbarre, for the pur- 
pose of availing themselves of the provisions of a certain 
law, conferring pensions. They, evidently, had been well 
formed, athletic men, who had braved many hardships 
and great dangers. Now, their cheeks were furrowed, 
their heads were white, and their forms were stooping 
towards the grave. They were "venerable men, who 
had come down to us from a former generation." We 
give their names and ages : Nathan Beach sixty-nine, 
James Thayer seventy, Samuel Pease seventy-two, James 
Ward seventy-five, David Doolittle sixty-seven, Thomas 
Gardner eighty-seven, John Strong seventy-seven, John 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 149 



Wort seventy-six, Samuel Breese seventy-four, Levi Bron- 
son seventy-one, Daniel Wadinan seventy-seven, Asaph 
Jones seventy-four, Elam Spencer sixty-eight, Francis 
Brewer sixty-seven, Benjamin Pedrick sixty-eight, John 
Whitcomb sixty-six, Benajah Fuller seventy-seven, Ro- 
bert Freeland seventy. Chandler Robinson seventy-one, 
Elisha Blackman seventy-two, Samuel Yanscoy sixty-six, 
John Bird seventy-eight, Joseph Knapp seven-one, Tho- 
mas Hawkins seventy-four, Epaphrus Wadsworth seventy- 
six, Thomas Taylor seventy-eight, George Stewart seventy- 
seven, John Warden ninety, Josiah Pell seventy-two, 
Daniel Spencer seventy-one, Moses Darby seventy-two. 

There were other soldiers of the Revolution residino; in 
the county at this time, who received pensions under other 
Acts of Congress, and who were not present at this meet- 
ing. A few years after this they, in company with a 
number of those already named, assembled in Wilkes- 
barre, and were addressed by the Rev. Benjamin Bidiack, 
who had served during the war, in the regular army, 
under Washington. This was the last meeting of Revo- 
lutionary patriots held in Luzerne county. One by one 
they have fallen, and disappeared from the ranks of the 
living, but their names are recorded on the tablet of fame. 
In freedom's cause they sacrificed their property, their 
comfort, and their health, and have bequeathed to us an 
invaluable blessing — a free and independent country. 



THE WYOMING- MONUMENT. 

A meeting was convened at the house of James Scovel, 
in Exeter township, on the 25th of November, 1809, for 
the purpose of adopting measures to erect a monument to 
the memory of those brave men who perished in the 
battle and massacre of Wyoming on the 3d of July, 1778. 



150 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 




THE WYOMING MONUMENT. 



Appropriate resolutions were adopted, and a committee 
appointed for each township in the county, with instruc- 
tions to collect funds, and report at the next meeting to 
be held at Wilkesbarre in the following January. At 
that time the people were generally poor, and in debt for 
their lands, and, as a consequence, only $300 were col- 
lected. This was rather discouraging, and here ended the 
matter for upwards of twenty-two years. 

The spot where the heroic dead had been buried was 
unknown until June, 1832, when their remains were dis- 
covered in one common grave on the farm of Fisher Gay. 
Almost all the skulls found, eighty in number, exhibited 
marks of the tomahawk and scalping-knife, and many of 
the bones were perforated by balls. On the 16th of June, 
1832, a meeting of citizens w^as held at Oliver Helm's 
Hotel, in Kingston, with a view to renew the effort to 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 151 



erect a mouument. . Benjamin Dorrance, Calvin Wad- 
hams, Anderson Dana, Lazarus Denison, David Scott, and 
G. M, HoUenbach, -svere appointed a committee to confer 
with Fisher Gay, in reference to procuring a site for the 
monument. The committee entered into an article of 
agreement with him, by which he promised to sell and 
convey land for the proposed monument at the rate of 
$200 per acre. On the 3d of July following, another 
meeting was held on the monument-ground, and among 
the resolutions adopted was one thanking Fisher Ga.y 
" for his liberality in bestowing the ground necessary for 
the erection of a monument, and for his attention to the 
meeting." July 3d, 1833, the corner-stone of the Wyo- 
ming Monument was laid with imposing display. The 
ceremony was performed by Elisha Blackman, a veteran, 
who was in the battle. A box was then deposited in the 
stone by Samuel Carey, another old soldier, who had also 
been in the engagement. The box contained a history 
of the early settlement of the valley ; an account of the 
battle ; a list of the names of those who fell in the engage- 
ment ; a copy of the official report of the battle by Colonel 
Z. Butler ; a copy of the address delivered on that occa- 
sion by Chester Butler; the muster-roll of a company 
commanded by Captain Samuel Ransom, and made out 
September 17, 1777;* copies of the addresses delivered 
by the Rev. Mr. May and the Rev. Mr. Murray at a 
former meeting ; a piece of each denomination of United 
States coin ; a copy of President Jackson's proclamation to 
the people of the United States, in reference to the hostile 
attitude of South Carolina towards the Federal Govern- 
ment ; and a copy of each newspaper then published in 

* This -was the muster-roll of one of the two independent companies, of 
which, probably, no copy was taken. What an oversight! 



152 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



the county. The bones of the slain were deposited in the 
ground, and the ceremonies of the occasion were closed 
by prayer from the Rev, John Dorrance. In 1839, a 
committee was appointed to visit the General Assembly 
of Connecticut, and solicit an appropriation of $3000 to 
complete the monument. The request was refused. The 
application was renewed in 1841, and again refused. A 
third time Connecticut was solicited to make this dona- 
tion, and a third time she refused. In 1839, a meeting 
was held at P. C. McGilchrist's, in Wilkesbarre, when the 
following resolution was adopted : — " Resolved, That the 
Building Committee be requested to obtain a deed in due 
form of the land, on which the monument is being built, 
according to the liberal and honorable promise of Fisher 
Gay, the patriotic proprietor thereof." In 1841, the 
patriotic ladies of Luzerne resolved to undertake the task 
of completing the monument, and accordingly formed 
themselves into a societ}'', called the Luzerne Monumental 
Association. Mrs. C. Butler was made president; Mrs. 
Hollenback and Mrs. Carey, vice-presidents ; Mrs. Harri- 
son Wright, treasurer ; Mrs. R. D. Carey, secretary ; Mrs. 
C. Butler, Mrs. Drake, Mrs. Beaumont, Mrs. Hollenback, 
Mrs. Conyngham, Mrs. Ross, Mrs. Bennett, Mrs. Sturde- 
vant, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Gilchrist, Mrs. Abbott, Mrs. 
Nicholson, Mrs. Lewis, and Mrs. Carey, Executive Com- 
mittee. This society went energetically to work. They 
obtained donations from various sources at home and 
abroad; held a fair at Wilkesbarre raised a fund of 
$2508.15, and proceeded to complete the undertaking, 
commenced by the lords of creation thirty j^ears before. 
As a preliminary step, this association of ladies held a 
meeting in 1842, and adopted this resolution : 

^^ Resolved, That we will finish the Wyoming Monu- 
ment, provided the gentlemen of the old building com- 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 15( 



mittee will make us a deed of the laud, and give us the 
foundation of the monument as it now stands, with the 
stone on the ground, free from all and every encumbrance 
whatsoever, or direction as to the particular mode of 
building." It is a matter of regret that the ladies did not 
adhere to this resolution in every particular. A deed for 
the land should have been placed in their hands before 
they commenced the work. This was not done, and after 
some delay it was determined to commence the structure 
without a title. 

In order to raise funds, the ladies had spread a Monu- 
mental Dinner, in Kingston, on the 24th of June, 1841. It 
was largely attended, and the Association realized a hand- 
some return. Rev. T. P. Hunt, Colonel H. B. Wright, and 
Dr. T. W. Miner delivered appropriate addresses. But 
the most united and general effort, to secure the money 
requisite to complete the Monument, was made at the 
Fair held in Wilkesbarre on the 1st, 2d, and 3d of July 
following. A great crowd of strangers and visitors were 
in attendance. The beauty and chivalry of the valley 
were there, and the masses put on their best attire and 
culled out a holiday. Such an array of flags, of eatables, 
and of drinkables ; such an array of fine goods and of fine 
ladies, had never before been witnessed in Luzerne. By 
this fair the ladies obtained |2200. The Boston ladies 
collected, by a fair, $25,000 for the Bunker Hill Monu- 
ment, but the Luzerne ladies, considering the relative 
population and wealth, did even better than they. Two 
thousand two hundred and fifty dollars were expended, 
and a Monument, sixty-two and a half feet in height, 
was raised, composed of the granite rocks of Luzerne. 
On three slabs, inserted in the sides of the structure, are 
inscriptions. The following, composed by Edward G. 
Mallery, Esq., is inscribed on the front slab : " Near this 



354 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



spot was fought, on the afternoon of the 3d of July, 1778, 
the battle of Wyoming ; in which a small band of patriotic 
Americans, chiefly the undisciplined, the youthful, and 
the aged, spared by inefficiency from the distant ranks 
of the republic, led by Colonel Zebulon Butler and Colonel 
Nathan Denison, with a courage that deserved success, 
boldly met and bravel}^ fought the combined British, 
tory, and Indian force of thrice their number- Numerical 
superiority alone gave success to the invader, and wide- 
spread havoc, desolation, and ruin marked his savage and 
bloody footsteps through the valley. This Monument, 
commemorative of these events, and in memory of the 
actors in them, has been erected over the bones of the 
slain by their descendants and others, who gratefully 
appreciate the services and sacrifices of their patriotic 
ancestors." 

The second slab has the following Latin inscription: 
" Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori."* 

The third slab contains the names of those who were 
slain in the engagement.^ 

For seventeen years this Monument has stood in an 
unfinished condition. No fence surrounds it ; not a tree 
or shrub casts a shadow at its base, but mutilated and 
desecrated, it stands a monument not only to the memory 
of the patriotic dead, but also a monument to our shame. 
All praise is due the ladies of the Monumental Asso- 
ciation ; and if gentlemen had properly seconded their 
efforts and requests, the reproach expressed in the present 
appearance of the Monument would not exist.^ Will not 
the ladies of 1860 finish the work so nobly begun and 
carried forward by those of 1841 ? 

* " It is sweet and glorious to die for one's country." 
t See Appendix, E, for names of the slain. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 155 



In 1856 Fisher Gay sold his farm to Payne Pettibone, 
and provided, in the deed of conveyance, that when the 
provisions of a certain article of agreement, to which we 
have already referred, shall be complied with, said Petti- 
bone shall execute a deed for the monument ground. Mr. 
Pettibone and wife sold the property to Moses Woodward, 
and he to Mr. Kesler and others, and in their several 
deeds reiterated the same provision. Who, then, owns 
the grave of our fathers, and the Monument erected to 
their memory ? The mortifying answer is, twenty or 
more strangers residing in Philadelphia and other parts 
of the United States. This fact becoming known to the 
author, he took the earliest opportunity to lay the subject 
before the Wyoming Historical Society. That Society 
directed its finance committee to open a correspondence, 
in reference to the matter, with the Luzerne Monumental 
Association. A meeting of the surviving members was 
convened, and the ladies stated that they never succeeded 
in procuring a deed, and expressed a desire to transfer 
the whole subject, with $100, the balance in the treasury, 
to the Wyoming Historical Society. The trust was ac- 
cepted, and the matter remains in abeyance, we hope, 
for no great length of time. 

* Note on Abraham Pike, p. 145. — Abraham Pike was a witty Irishman, 
who, when quite young, entered the British army and was promoted to the 
rank of sergeant. When the Revolutionary war broke out he accompanied 
his regiment to America, and was wounded at the battle of Bunker Hill. 
Having become dissatisfied with the Royal cause, he deserted to the American 
army, and after his term of enlistment had expired he came to Wyoming. 
He was a member of Capt. Hewit's company, and fought bravely in the 
battle of July 3d, 1778. He acted as guide to Sullivan's army on its march 
from Wyoming into the Indian country. He was sadly addicted to 
intemperance, which occasionally led him to the commission of petty thefts. 
On one occasion he stole a silver spoon, and on being charged with the offense 
most positively declared his innocence. " Do you say, Pike, on the honor of 
a soldier that you have not got that spoon V His chin fell to his breast, and 
taking the spoon from his pocket remarked, " the honor of a soldier is sacred 
and should never be tarnished." He died a pauper about 30 years ago. 



CHAPTER V. 
LUZERNE COUNTY. 

Near the close of the year 1682, William Penn divided 
the province of Pennsylvania into the three counties of 
Philadelphia, Chester, and Bucks. 

Bucks embraced all the north-eastern portion of the 
province. The Walking Purchase, an account of which 
we have recorded in a former chapter, placed the heirs 
of Penn in possession of the lands on the Delaware ; and 
the settlements rapidly increasing along that river, Bucks 
was divided, and Northampton county was organized in 
1752, with the seat of justice at Easton. This act placed 
the lands of the Susquehanna Company within the limits 
of the new county, and consequently all legal process 
issued from the courts of Northampton. Prisoners taken 
in Wyoming were conveyed across the mountains to the 
jail at Easton. 

By the Act of the 21st of March, 1772, the county of 
Northumberland was formed, comprehending within its 
limits the disputed territory of Wyoming. Sunbury being 
the county seat, and communication between it and Wyo- 
ming being along the river, and much more convenient 
than Easton, it was supposed by the provincial authorities 
of Pennsylvania, that their laws would be more readily 
extended over and promptly enforced against the Con- 
necticut intruders. It was found, however, that the 
Yankees were as turbulent and ungovernable in North- 

(156) 



LUZERNE COUNTY. 157 



umberland as they had been in Northampton county. It 
was now thought advisable to cut off the northern portion 
of Northumberland, and to erect it into a new county. 
Accordingly, by the Act of the 25th of September, 1786, 
Luzerne county was established, and so named in honor 
of the Chevalier De la Luzerne, formerly minister of 
France to the United States. 

De la Luzerne was born at Paris in 1741 ; and adopt- 
ing the military profession, served in the Seven Years' 
War, and rose to the rank of colonel. Afterwards aban- 
doning arms, he turned his attention to diplomacy. In 
1778, in the midst of our Revolutionary struggle, he was 
appointed minister to the United States. He remained 
here five years, and completely won the hearts of the 
people of this country by his prudence and wisdom, and 
by the concern he manifested for their interests. In 1780, 
when our army was most destitute, and government with- 
out means, he raised money on his own responsibility to 
relieve the general distress. He afterwards became am- 
bassador for France to the Court of London ; and in 1789, 
when the Federal Government was organized, Jefferson, 
secretary of state, by order of President Washington, 
addressed a letter to the Chevalier De la Luzerne, 
making express acknowledgment of his services, and the 
sense of them entertained by the nation. 

No one can fail to see the propriety of selecting the 
name of this distinguished and generous foreigner for that 
of the new county. The honor conferred was an appro- 
priate expression of the respect and gratitude of the people 
jY their representatives, for the services of a generous 
friend, who, in the darkest hour of the Republic's peril, 
had furnished them the means to maintain a successful 
struggle against tyranny. 



158 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



To perfect the boundary lines of Luzerne, in 1804 a 
portion of the north-western corner was annexed to 
Lycoming county; and in 1808 there was added to it a 
part of Northumberland, lying west and south-west of 
the Nescopeck Creek. 

In 1810, a portion of Bradford — then called Ontario — 
and Susquehanna counties, were set off from Luzerne. 
Had the southern boundary of Susquehanna county been 
run as intended by the Act of the Legislature, separating 
it from Luzerne, the pleasant town of Dundaff would still 
be included within the limits of the latter. A dotted line 
on the accompanying map shows the true boundary, 
which probably will never be established. 

Wyoming county w^as formed out of the north-western 
part of Luzerne, in the year 1842, and in 1856 a small 
portion of Foster township was annexed to Carbon county, 
reducing Luzerne to its present boundaries. The original 
territory of Luzerne embraced five thousand square miles, 
exceeding in extent the state of Connecticut. With its 
present area of one thousand four hundred and twenty- 
seven square miles, it is still the largest county in the 
Commonwealth ; containing five hundred square miles 
more than Lancaster or Berks, and sixty-seven more 
than the state of Rhode Island. "Like the farm of the 
old Roman, which, as each successive son took from it 
his portion, was more productive the smaller it grew;" 
so Luzerne now has more aggregate wealth than when 
her territory exceeded thrice its present size. Within 
the last twenty years Luzerne has made astonishing 
advancement in population, wealth, and enterprise, as- 
cribable to the opening of her coal-mines ; but as these 
will be treated of under the appropriate head, we pass 
now to a brief description of its 



LUZERNE COUNTY. 159 



VALLEYS. 



Wyoming Valley — from Maughwauwame, the Indian 
name, signifying large plains — is situated in the centre 
of the county, and is one of the most celebrated valleys 
in the world. Its history has been written by at least 
four historians ; and its scenery, battles, and thrilling 
incidents, have furnished rich materials for the pens and 
pencils of numerous poets, novelists, and artists. It has 
been visited by Louis Philippe, afterwards king of the 
French ; by nobles and bards ; by governors, bishops, 
senators, and travelers from various parts of the civilized 
world, who have joined, with Campbell in saying, Wyo- 
ming is " the loveliest land of all, that see the Atlantic 
wave their morn restore." It is twenty-one miles in 
length from north-east to south-west, with an average 
breadth of three miles. It contains forty thousand acres 
of land ; of which twenty-five thousand are cultivated, 
the remainder being occupied by groves, streams, &c. 
The Susquehanna river gracefully winds through the 
centre of the valley, occasionally inundating and enrich- 
ing the low alluvial soil, which yields abundant harvests 
to the labors of the husbandman. The high lands extend- 
ing from the plains to the base of the surrounding moun- 
tains, with the aid of manure, produce abundantly, and 
constitute about one^half of the whole surface of the 
valley. 

The mount-ains encompassing this valley vary in height 
from five hundred to nineteen hundred feet, and are cov- 
ered with mighty oaks and hemlocks, which have with- 
stood the blasts of ages. From Prospect Rock, Campbell's 
or Dial Ledge, from Ross or Dilley's Hill, or from any- 
other prominent point of observation, this valley, in whole 



160 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



or in part, presents to the eye a complete picture. In 
truth, it is the union of many superb pictures in one 
grand perfection, and herein consists its superiority over 
all other landscapes. 

Lackawanna Valley derives its name from the Lacka- 
wanna river, which courses through its whole length, and 
signifies forhs, or union of waters. It is a delightful val- 
ley, with an undulating surface, extending in length thirty 
miles from north-east to south-west, and contains about 
eighteen thousand acres of land, a considerable portion 
of which is cultivated. From the summit of the Moosic 
Mountains, this populous valley stretches far away be- 
fore the eye of the beholder, presenting a scene of rare 
beauty. Groves, green fields, and sparkling streams 
inspire admiration, as he looks down upon what has been 
justly called, by her own historian, " the Sister of Wyo- 
ming." Not robed by Dame Nature, it is true, in the 
same charming attractions as Wyoming, but belonging to 
the same family, settled by the same people, who hand- 
in-hand braved danger and died together defending their 
altars and firesides. May their children be for ever bound 
together in the fraternity of peace ! 

Huntington Valley derives its name from Huntington 
township, and lies in the north-western part of the county. 
It comprehend^ portions of Fairmount and Ross town- 
ships, and nearly the whole of Huntington township. 
This valley is ten miles in length from north to south, 
and five miles wide from east to west, and contains more 
than thirty thousand acres of red-shale land, three-fourths 
of which are cultivated. The Huntington creek flows 
through its whole extent, affording excellent water-power 
for mills, and forming an essential feature in the grand 
and picturesque views obtained from the surrounding 
mountains. Two magnificent views of this fine valley 



LUZERNE COUNTY. 161 



ma}^ be obtained, one from the summit of the Huntington 
Mountain on the south, at the point where the Susque- 
hanna and Tioga turnpike road crosses it, and one from 
the summit of the Great North Mountain, near Keyser's. 
The former is fifteen hundred, and the latter twenty hun- 
dred feet above the level of the Susquehanna river, and 
the prospects presented from these elevated points are 
among the grandest within the limits of the state. 

SuGARLOAF Vallet is situated in the south-western 
extremity of the county, and includes parts of Sugarloaf, 
Butler, and Black Creek townships. It derives its name 
from an isolated cone-shaped mountain, five hundred feet 
high, towering near the centre of the valley. It is ten 
miles in length, from north-east to south-west, by about 
three in breadth, and contains twenty thousand acres of 
red-shale land. The Nescopeck and Black Creeks mean- 
der through the valley, uniting their waters in the south- 
west, where they break through the Nescopeck Mountain, 
and flow onward to the river. Its surface is undulating, 
and well cultivated by an industrious people. Like the 
other valleys which have been described, Sugarloaf is 
surrounded by mountains. The Nescopeck on the north- 
west, and Buck Mountain on the south-east, lift their 
craggy heads to the clouds. From their summits the 
traveler, passing from Wilkesbarre or Berwick towards 
Hazelton, may gaze on one of the most beautiful of vales 
spread out beneath his feet. 

There are some valleys without names, as well as many 
fine open districts of country in Luzerne, not properly 
denominated valleys, which will be remarked upon under 
the head of townships. 

11 



162 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



MOUNTAINS. 



'* He who first met the Highlands' swelling blue, 
Will love each peak that shows a kindred hue, 
Hail in each crag a friend's familiar face, 
And clasp the mountain in his mind's embrace." 

The Alleghany or Appalachian Mountains extend from 
Georgia to the British possessions on the north-east of the 
United States, terminating in the bold headlands of Cape 
Gaspe. Their general direction is from north-east to 
south-west, and the principal chains are the Blue Ridge, 
North Mountain, Cumberland, Jackson, and Laurel Moun- 
tains, which divide the waters flowing into the Atlantic 
from those that flow into the Mississippi and into the 
Gulf of Mexico. The height of these ranges varies from 
eight hundred to twentj-five hundred feet, though there 
are peaks towering far above these. The Black Moun- 
tain, in North Carolina, is 6476 feet above the level of 
the sea, and is the most elevated point in the United 
States east of the Rocky Mountains. 

The White Mountains, in New Hampshire, are clad in 
ice and snow ten months in the year, and range in height 
above the sea as follows : Mount Washington, 6234 feet; 
Mount Adams, 5328 feet.; Mount Jefferson, 5058 feet; 
Mount Monroe, 4932 feet; Mount Madison, 4866 feet; 
Mount Franklin, 4711 feet. 

The highest peak of the Otter Mountains, in Virginia, 
is 5307 feet ; and the highest peak of the Catskill, in New 
York, is 3804 feet above the level of the sea. 

The mountains of Luzerne are component parts of the 
Ajleghanies, having the same general direction, but in- 
stead of being covered with eternal ice and snow, hurling 
the sunbeams back to the vaulted sky, they are clad in 
green to their summits during the greater part of the 



LUZERNE COUNTY. 163 



year. The timber found upon them is chiefly oak, 
pine, and hemlock, interspersed with ash, maple, beach, 
and chestnut, which, mingling their foliage, give to the 
mountain side a variety of beautiful and delicate colors. 

The North Mountain is the highest in the county, 
being 2000 feet above the Susquehanna river at Wilkes- 
barre, and 2636 feet above the level of the ocean. It 
extends through the north-western corner of the county, 
crossing the townships of Lake, Ross, and Fairmount. 
It divides the waters which empty into the North from 
these emptying into the West Branch of the Susque- 
hanna, and is said to be the only mountain in the county 
now inhabited by the panther. . 

Huntington Mountain extends through Salem and 
Huntington townships, and is eight hundred feet above 
the level of the Susquehanna. 

Shickshinny Mountain, in Salem and Union town- 
ships, is eight hundred and sixty feet in height above the 
river, which winds along its base from the Nanticoke dam 
to the Shickshinny Creek, 

Plymouth and Kingston Mountains range through 
the townships of Plymouth, Kingston, and Exeter, form- 
ing the north-western boundary of Wyoming Valley, and 
varying in height from five hundred to eight hundred and 
fifty feet above the river. 

Capouse Mountain, so named from Capouse, the chief 
of the Muncy Indians, takes its rise in Ransom township, 
above the mouth of the Lackawanna river, and extends 
to Fell township, in the north-east corner of the county. 
It forms the north-western boundary of Lackawanna 
Valley, and is eight hundred and fift}^ feet in height 
above the level of the Lackawanna river. 

Bald Mountain, on this range, in Newton township, 
is seventeen hundred and fifty feet in height above the 
river, and affords an extensive and grand view of the 



164 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



surrounding country. Its position gives the observer a 
complete prospect of Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys. 
The bridge at Wilkesbarre, twenty-two miles distant, is 
plainly discernible. 

Dial or Campbell's Rock, at the south-western point of 
Capouse Mountain, in Ransom township, is about seven 
hundred feet above the river, and is frequently visited by 
travelers and others, on account of the exceedingly beauti- 
ful and picturesque view of Wyoming presented to the eye 
from its summit. This rock, lying directly north and 
south, was the noon-mark of the first inhabitants of Wyo- 
ming, and hence it was called Dial Rock, which is its pro- 
per name. Some say a man named Campbell was killed 
here by the Indians. This statement has, probably^ 
no more foundation than that of a young lady from 
Philadelphia, who, in writing to her friends, told them 
she had stood on the rock where Thomas Campbell wrote 
his Gertrude of Wyoming ! It is well known that Camp- 
bell never saw Wyoming, or even the shores of America. 

Having given a brief ' description of the mountains 
north and north-west of the Susquehanna and Lacka- 
wanna, I proceed to a similar account of those south and 
south-east of these rivers. 

Lee's Mountain, named from Colonel Washington Lee, 
extends along the Susquehanna in a south-east direction, 
through Newport and Hollenback townships, and is eight 
hundred feet in height above the river. Pulpit Rock, on 
this mountain, in Hollenback township, is nine hundred 
feet in height, and is often visited by parties of pleasure. 
From this point a fine view is obtained of the open coun- 
try, extending from Beach Grove, in Salem township, to 
Bloomsburg, in Columbia county, a distance of eighteen 
or twenty miles. This peak was named Kansal K(ypf by 
the early German settlers in Hollenback township, which 



LUZERNE COUNTY. 165 



term signifies pulpit rock. Honey Pot is the north-eastern 
terminus of Lee's Mountain at Nanticoke, and is eight 
hundred and sixtj-five feet in height. This name was 
given to it by Major Prince Alden, in 1772, who owned 
the property, and, on his first entrance, discovered upon 
it vast quantities of wild bees. From the summit of the 
Hone}^ Pot, though seldom visited, Wyoming Valley pre- 
sents more real beauty than from any other point, and 
the most charming picture of the valley ever obtained 
was from this position, by Mr. Perkins, some years ago. 

The Wyoming or Wilkesbarre range of mountains 
extends through Newport, Hanover, Wright, Wilkesbarre, 
Bear Creek, and Pittston townships, and constitutes the 
south-eastern boundary of Wyoming Valley. These 
mountains vary in height. The Five Mile Mountain is 
one thousand five hundred and fifty-two feet in height 
above the Susquehanna ; the summit level of the Susque- 
hanna and Lehigh Railroad is one thousand one hundred 
and seventy-two feet, and the Wilkesbarre Mountain, near 
Wilkesbarre, is one thousand and fifty feet in height. 
Prospect Eock, two miles from Wilkesbarre, is seven hun- 
dred and fifty feet above the river, and is the most cele- 
brated point of observation, because the most convenient. 
Near this spot is the Prospect House, a large and excellent 
hotel, kept by Mr. Stiles Williams. The location is very 
fine, and it is a favorite place of resort in the summer, 
where the very best entertainment is provided for visitors. 
Penobscot Knob, on this range, is one thousand six hundred 
and thirty-nine feet above the river, and is five miles distant 
from Wilkesbarre. Bald Mountain, in the same range, in 
Bear Creek township, is one thousand eight hundred and 
twenty-five feet above the level of the river, and is nine 
miles from Wilkesbarre. From the summit of this peak 
the mountains of Centre county, and the waters of the 



166 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



West Branch of the Susquehannaj the North Mountain, 
the Blue Ridge, and the vast expanse of country, with its 
rivers, lakes, and valleys, embracing innumerable farms, 
towns, and villages, stretch out before, and lie within, the 
vision of the beholder. 

Moosic Mountain, formerly inhabited by the moose, 
extends through Lackawanna, Blakeley, Providence, and 
Carbondale townships, and bounds the Lackawanna Val- 
ley on the south-east. The average height of this range 
is nine hundred and fifty feet, and, from its summit, about 
five miles east of Carbondale, a fine view is presented of 
Salem, Mount Pleasant, and Canaan townships, in Wayne 
county, together with the mountains of the Delaware, 
about the mouth of the Lackawaxen and Narrowsburg. 

Nescopeck Mountain extends from Black Creek town- 
ship, on the south-western, to Jefferson township, on the 
eastern boundary of the county. It is very regular in its 
formation, approximating the regularity of the Great 
Blue Ridge. Its average height is one thousand feet, and 
it divides the waters that flow into the Lehigh from those 
flowing into the Susquehanna. 

Buck Mountain, in the southern part of the county, 
extends through Black Creek, Butler, Denison, Sugarloaf, 
and Foster townships, and is also a dividing line between 
the waters of the Lehigh and Susquehanna. It is one 
thousand feet in height. 

Crystal Ridge, in Hazel township, is an elevated 
mountain celebrated for its quartz, occurring in pellucid 
glassy forms, which is found in great abundance. 

Our object in enumerating these mountains has been to 
impart correct information with respect to their location and 
height. The altitude of each, with one or two exceptions, 
is from actual measurements and surveys made by com- 
petent engineers. No stranger who visits the valleys of 



LUZERNE COUNTY. 167 



Wyoming and Lackawanna should fail to ascend Penob- 
scot, or Bald Mountain, the Honey Pot, and Prospect, or 
Dial Rock. From their summits his eye will rest on 
scenery which no pen can adequately describe, or artist's 
pencil paint. Here stood the Indian before the primeval 
forest disappeared, and looked out upon his wilderness 
home, admiring nature, and worshiping nature's God. 
The savage is gone, and in his stead is the white man. 
who has grafted on the sublimity of nature the beauty of 
art. We cast our eye over these enchanting views and 
almost forget the violent struggle, the bloodshed, the con- 
flagration, and the desolated harvests which followed the 
departure of the aborigines from their homes and the 
graves of their fathers. 



RIVERS AND CREEKS. 

" See the rivers how they run, 
Through woods and meads, in shade and sun, 
Sometimes swift, sometimes slow, 
Wave suceeding wave, they go 
A various journey to the deep, 
Like human life to endless sleep." 

Susquehanna is an Indian name, signifying hroad, 
shallow river. It is the largest stream in Pennsylvania, 
being four hundred and fifty miles in length. It is chiefly 
formed by the North and West Branches, which unite at 
Northumberland. The former rises in Otsego Lake and 
the highlands of Otsego county, in the state of New 
York. It receives the Chenango at Binghamton, and 
the Chemung below Athens, and enters Luzerne from 
Wyoming county on the north, between Exeter and 
Newton townships. Its length in Luzerne county is 
forty-five miles, and its average breadth eight hundred 
feet. Its current is ordinarily two and a half miles an 



168 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



hour, but in high water a raft will run five miles an hour. 
Its fall is two feet per mile, and its course is south and 
south-west. Perhaps no other river in America rolls 
onward to the ocean, through fortj-five miles of continu- 
ous country, so grand and picturesque in its general 
features. Lofty mountains, craggy clifts, green fields, 
and groves, thriving villages and crystal-bound islands, 
alternate along the winding stream. Many writers, 
known to fame, who have voyaged this distance, have 
recorded in poetry or in prose their high admiration of 
its beauties. 

One day, towards the close of the last century, just as 
the sun was rising above the hill-tops, three plainly- 
dressed men stepped into an Indian canoe at Frenchtown- 
They were foreigners who, after wandering in exile 
through Lapland, Russia, Sweden, and other countries of 
Europe, at length found safety in the great republic of 
the New World. They were princes, born in sunny 
France. Having heard of the beauties of the Susque- 
hanna and Wyoming scenery, they had resolved to visit 
what they afterward declared was one of the fairest spots 
on earth. They landed at Wilkesbarre in June, 1797, 
and found comfortable lodgings at Arndt's tavern on 
River street, lately remodeled, and now occupied by E. 
P. Darling, Esq. One of these was the Duke of Orleans, 
another the Duke of Montpensier, and the third Count 
Beaujoleis, exiles, compelled to leave their native coun- 
try, then struggling in the throes of her great Revolution. 

Lackawanna or Lehawhanna river rises in Susquehan- 
na county, and, flowing south-west about fifty miles, unites 
with the Susquehanna river immediately above Pittston 
It is a rapid stream, having an average fall of eight feet 
to the mile, and, until within a few years, was used for 
lafting in times of high water. It is about one hundred 



LUZERNE COUNTY. 169 



feet wide at its mouth, and is used as a feeder to the 
North Branch Canal, the dam being two miles above its 
confluence. Near Scranton a gaseous vapor rises from 
the bed of the stream, which ignites and burns freely. It 
is a curiosity worthy the attention of the traveler. 

Lehigh, in early times, w^as known as the north branch 
of the Delaware river. It rises in Luzerne and Wayne 
counties, flows south-west one hundred miles, and unites 
with the Delaware at Easton, where it is three hundred 
feet wide. It forms the boundary line between Luzerne 
and Monroe counties, and is a turbulent stream, having 
an average fall of seventeen feet to the mile. The head 
waters of the Lehigh are 1882 feet above tide. Large 
quantities of lumber passed down on its swollen tide at an 
early day, but boats, at present, are chiefly used in con- 
veying it to market, the river being slackwater from 
White Haven.* From Mauch Chunk, or a few miles 
below, the Lehigh runs through a pleasant well cultivated 
country, but above that point the scenery along its banks 
is wild and mountainous, and its w^aters plunge and dash 
against the rocks, stunning the ear with their sound. 

The principal creeks flowing into the Susquehanna, on 
the north-west, are as follows : 

Shickshinnt Creek-j- rises in Ross township, courses 
south-east through Union, and is eight miles in length ; 

HuNLOCK Creek, so called from Jonathan Hunlock, who 
settled near its mouth about the year 1773, rises in Ross 
township, runs south-east through Union, and is ten 
miles in length ; 

Harvey's Creek, named from Benjamin Harvey, who 
located near its junction in 1775, is the outlet of Harvey's 
Lake. It flows south-east through Lake, Lehman, Jack- 

* Lehigh Navigation was destroyed in 1862. See Appendix Y. 
t Meaning, quick dashing water. 



170 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



son, and Plymouth townships, and is twelve miles in 
length ; 

Toby's Creek derives its name from Tobyhanna, an In- 
dian name, signifying alder stream, from the abundance 
of alders growing on its banks. It rises in Dallas town- 
ship, and flows south-east through Lehman, Jackson, and 
Kingston townships. Its length is ten miles ; 

Abram's Creek, so called from Abram, chief of the Mo- 
hicans, whose village was located near Forty Fort, rises 
in Dallas township, and flows through Kingston. It is 
eight miles in length ; 

Huntington Creek rises in the Long Pond in Sullivan 
county, and in Fairmount and Ross townships. It runs 
south sixteen miles, and empties into Fishing Creek in 
Columbia county. Prior to the erection of Huntington 
township it was known as the east branch of Fishing 
Creek. 

The largest streams emptying into the Susquehanna, 
on the south-east, are — 

Nescopeck Creek, from the Indian, which signifies deep, 
black water, rises in Denison township, runs south-w^est 
through Wright, Butler, Sugarloaf, Black Creek, and 
Nescopeck, and is twenty-eight miles in length ; 

Big Wapwallopen, signifying the place where the 7nes- 
sengei's were murdered, rises in Wright, flows nearly west 
through Dorrance and Hollenback townships, and is 
twenty miles in length ; 

Little Wapwallopen rises in Slocum township, and 
runs through Hollenback. It is thirteen miles in length ; 

Solomon's Creek was so called from a Mr. Solomon, who 
settled near its confluence with the Susquehanna in 1774. 
It rises in Wilkesbarre township, runs through Hanover, 
and is seven miles in length ; 

Mill Creek, so called by the first inhabitants who erected 



LUZERNE COUNTY. 171 



the first grist and saw mills upon its banks in 1772, rises 
in Pittston township, flows through Bear Creek, Jenkins, 
Plains, and Wilkesbarre, and empties into the Susque- 
hanna one mile above the borough of Wilkesbarre. Its 
length is eight miles. 

Spring Brook has its rise in Covington, runs through 
Spring Brook and Lackawanna townships, and empties 
into the Lackawanna river above the village of Pittston. 
Its length is twelve miles. 

Black Creek is so called from the dark color of its 
waters. It rises in Foster and runs west through Hazel, 
Sugarloaf, and Black Creek townships, emptying into the 
Nescopeck. It is eighteen miles in length. 

Nayaug or Roaring Brook rises in Covington, runs 
through Madison and Providence townships, and empties 
into the Lackawanna at Scranton. It is twelve miles 
long. 

Bear Creek, which is twelve miles in length, rises in 
Bear Creek township, runs south-west, and empties into 
the Lehigh. 

Many of these streams have their sources in the nume- 
rous lakes and ponds which abound in this county, and 
others have their rise in small mountain springs. Their 
waters are generally clear and cold. They afibrd excel- 
lent water-power, chiefly occupied by grist and saw mills, 
and abound in trout and other delicious fish. 

The streams of this county are crossed by numerous 
and excellent bridges. A few of the largest and most 
costly may be noticed. 

The Nescopeck Bridge, across the Susquehanna at Ber- 
wick, was erected in 1816 by the Nescopeck Bridge Com- 
pany, incorporated in 1807. It was built by the celebrated 
bridge builder, Theodore Burr, and was 1250 feet in length. 
It cost $36,000, a portion of which was furnished by the 



172 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



state. This bridge was carried away by the ice and high 
water in 1836. The second bridge, now standing, was 
erected in 1837 on the site of the old one, and cost 
$27,500. The constructors were Eliphalet Edson and 
Samuel Millard. 

The Wilkesbarre Bridge was completed in 1818 by the 
Wiikesbarre Bridge Company, incorporated in 1807. ■ The 
constructors were Messrs. Wernwag and Powel, who were 
two years in building it, at a cost of $44,000. In 1819 
the pier next to Wilkesbarre was undermined, and two 
reaches of the bridge were lost. The damage was repaired 
by the state, at a cost of $13,000. In the winter of 1824 
a tremendous hurricane swept over the valley, uprooting 
trees and blowing down houses. It lifted the whole 
superstructure of this bridge from the piers, and, carry- 
ing it several feet up stream, lodged it on the ice. To 
rebuild the bridge the Legislature appropriated $15,000 
of state claims, or liens, due from Luzerne county, and 
appointed George M. Hollenback, Garrick Mallery, and 
Calvin Wadhams, commissioners, to carry out the pur- 
poses of the Act. The commissioners appointed Andrew 
Beaumont to collect the money, and let the work. Reu- 
ben Fields became the architect. The state then had 
$28,000 of stock in the bridge, which was sold a few 
years ago. It has four arches, each 175 feet in length. 

The Pittston Ferry Bridge was built in 1851, at a cost 
of $16,500. It is a wide single-tf-p-ck bridge, with stone 
piers, and its length is 750 feet. The constructor was 
Enos Trescott. 

Paddy's Run Bridge Company was incorporated in 
1857 with a capital of $50,000. Their bridge crosses the 
Susquehanna at Shickshinny. It has a double track, with 
a railroad laid on the carriage track. It connects the 
Newport coal-field with the canal, and with the Blooms- 



LUZERNE COUNTY. 173 



burg and Lackawanna Railroad. It is what is called a 
Burr bridge, with stone piers and stone ice-breakers. Its 
length is 676 feet. The constructor was Jedidiah Irish.* 
There are several beautiful and fertile islands in the 
Susquehanna, within the limits of this county. I men- 
tion Scofield's, above the mouth of the Lackawanna ; 
Wintermoot's, a short distance below Pittston; Monocko- 
7iock, or Monockacy, above the village of Troy ; Fish's, 
immediately below Wilkesbarre ; ParFs, at the mouth of 
Toby's Creek ; RicliarcVs next, about two miles below 
Park's ; Lyons, at Lyon's Ferry ; S7nitlier''s, near Beach 
Grove, and Rocky Island, at Beach Haven. These islands 
contain from five to two hundred acres of land. The 
largest are cultivated and inhabited. 

LAKES AND PONDS. 

"The polish'd mirror of the lake, 
In which the deep reflected sky appears, 
A calm sublime immensity below." 

Carlos Wilcox. 

North America surpasses all the world besides in fresh- 
water seas or lakes. These lakes contain more than half 
of the fresh water of the globe. The lakes on the North- 
ern Plains in British America are almost innumerable. 
The whole country is interspersed with lakes, ponds, and 
rivers. The Great Lakes are five in number — Sui^erior, 
Huron, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario. 

Lake Superior is the largest body of fresh water in the 
New World, and its surface is almost equal to that of all 
England. It is 600 feet above the level of the Atlantic, 
and is nearly 1000 feet in depth. It is 355 miles in 
length, and 160 miles in breadth. 

* This bridge was carried away by the flood of 1865, and is being rebuilt. 



174 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Lake Michigan is 320 miles in length, and 100 miles 
in breadth. Its elevation is 578 feet, and its depth 900 
feet. 

Lake Huron is 260 miles in length, and 160 in breadth. 
It has a depth of 900 feet, with an elevation of 574 
feet. 

Lake Erie is 240 miles in length, and 80 in breadth. 
Its elevation is 565 feet. It is a basin Of comparatively 
little depth, but is exposed to tempests and dangerous 
fogs. 

Lake Ontario has a mean depth of 500 feet. Its ele- 
vation is 232 feet, extending in length 180 miles by 33 
miles in breadth. It is estimated that these lakes drain 
335,515 square miles of territory. The four first named 
of these lakes discharge their waters over the world- 
renowned Falls of Niagara. The thickness of the water 
on the Falls, in the centre of the Horse-shoe, is twenty 
feet, and it is computed that five thousand million barrels 
of water are precipitated over them every twenty-four 
hours. The hydraulic power of the Falls has been esti- 
mated as equivalent to that of four millions five hundred 
thousand horses — a power sufficient to set in motion all 
the manufactories of the world. 

As we advance southward into the interior of North 
America the lakes grow smaller. In New York state 
there are several beautiful and extensive lakes, as the 
Oneida, Seneca, and Cayuga. In Pennsylvania the lakes 
are still smaller than those of New York. In Luzerne 
county their number, great and small, is about forty. 
Many of them are mere ponds. They are, in truth, 
springs of pure cold water, having, in most cases, no 
visible inlet. They furnish fish in abundance, such as 
pike, pickerel, perch, sun and catfish, but no trout. The 



LUZERNE COUNTY. 175 



shores and bottoms of these lakes and ponds are gene- 
rally composed of sand and gravel, and the depth of 
water is seldom less than five feet or more than two hun- 
dred. Here and there, surrounding these bodies of water, 
are cultivated fields, with woodlands interspersed, and 
frowning mountains beyond, forming beautiful scenery, 
and sheltering the fisherman from the rays of the burn- 
ing sun, as he rows gently along the shore, or casts his 
line beneath the trees or in the mountain shadows. Deer 
are frequently shot at night, as they approach these lakes 
for water, by hunters in boats with torch-lights. The 
deer gazes with astonishment at the slow-moving light 
on the water, his eyes glaring like balls of fire, wlien he 
suddenly falls before the hunter's rifle. 

Harvey's Lake, 1000 feet above the level of the 
Susquehanna, is situated in Lake township, twelve miles 
north-west of Wilkesbarre. It is an immense spring of 
pure cold water, with a beautiful clean sand and gravel 
bottom, and varies in depth from five to two hundred 
feet. It was first discovered by Benjamin Harvey, who 
settled upon its outlet prior to the Revolutionary War. 
It was surveyed in 1794, when covered with ice, by 
Christopher Hurlbert, who found it extended over an 
area of 1285 acres, a little more than two square miles. 
It is the largest body of fresh water in Pennsylvania, 
and furnishes an abundant supply of fish, which, owing 
to the purity of the water, are of superior quality. 

The Lake House, situated on an elevated spot near the 
south-western shore, is a large, commodious, and well- 
finished building, kept by an accommodating landlord, 
Mr. Nicholson, who furnishes boats for rowing or sailing, 
and, also, an abundant supply of well-prepared food, such 
as venison, fish, and wild fowls taken from the surround- 



176 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



ing forests and from the crystal water. To all persons 
desirous of a pleasant, healthy, quiet summer retreat, we 
say, go to Harvey's Lake, where you can have plenty of 
fresh air, pure water, delightful scenery, and just enough 
of fashion to make your visit agreeable. The first canoe 
ever launched upon the bosom of this lake by a white 
man was made in Wyoming Valley, in 1800, by Andrew 
Bennet. It was shod with hickory saplings, and was 
drawn over the mountain by horses, and used in fishing 
and hunting. 

Crystal Lakes, in Greenfield and Fell townships, are 
beautiful sheets of water, and among the largest in the 
county. The upper lake, partly in Susquehanna county, 
furnished the first sand for Phinney's Glass Works, in 
1832. It covers an area of 300 acres, and is one of the 
sources of the Lackawanna river. 

Chapman's Lake, in Scott township, is a tributary of 
the Tunkhannock Creek, and covers 100 acres of ground. 

Lake Henry, in Covington township, extends over an 
area of 300 acres, and is the source of Roaring Creek. 
It is situated on the high range of the Moosic Moun- 
tains, which divide the waters of the Lackawanna from 
those of the Lehigh. It is 1882 feet above the level of 
the sea. 

Beaver Lake, in Buck township, is one mile in length 
and a half mile in breadth. It is the source of Pond 
Creek, which flows into the Lehigh. 

Sheik's Pond, Bassett's, Long, Windfall, and Hand- 
some Ponds are all in Benton township, and extend over 
an area of from 100 to 300 acres each, and form a consider- 
able portion of the head waters of the Tunkhannock 
Creek. 

Wall. Gravel, and Mud Ponds pour their waters into 



LUZERNE COUNTY. 177 



the South Branch of the Tunkhannock Creek, and lie in 
Abington township. 

Cobb's Pond, in Jefferson township, is one mile long by 
a half mile wide. It has a beautiful sand and gravel 
bottom, and is 1800 feet above the level of the sea. Its 
waters empty into the Lehigh. 

Rattlesnake Pond, in Springbrook township, covers an 
area of 60 acres, and has a mud bottom. It is one of 
the sources of Springbrook. 

Hazard's Pond, in Providence township, empties its 
waters into the Lackawanna river. Being situated near 
a densely populated region, its waters are often vexed by 
fishermen of various skill and character. 

Triangle Pond, in Wright township, has an area of 
150 acres, and is one of the sources of the Little Wap- 
wallopen Creek. 

Long and Round Ponds, in^Slocum township, are also 
sources of the Little Wapwallopen, and abound in fish. 
The former is about a mile long by a half mile wide ; the 
latter is smaller. Their depth is from twenty-five to fifty 
feet. 

Three Cornered Pond, in Lehman township, is a hand- 
some body of clear water, and constitutes one of the 
sources of Hunlock Creek. 

North and South Ponds, in Ross township, the former 
covering 250 acres, and the latter about 150, discharge 
their waters through Hunlock Creek. 

Mud Pond, in Fairmount township, empties into the 
Huntington Creek, which also receives the waters of Long 
Pond, in Sullivan county, near the Luzerne county line. 
At this latter point, on the summit of the North Moun- 
tain, 2636 feet above the level of the sea, Mr. C. Ricketts, 
of Orangeville, Columbia county, erected a large stone 
hotel. Long Pond furnishes plenty of excellent fish, and 
12 



178 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



the surrounding woodlands an abundance of game. The 
mountain air is pure and bracing, and all things conspire 
to make a visit to Long Pond Hotel agreeable to persons 
fond of exercise, and in search of good fishing and hunting 
grounds. 

POPULATION. 

Malthus and Sonnenfels have treated at large of the 
theory of population, its increase and subsistence, in whose 
works the reader will find much curious information. 
Some governments have found it necessary to stimulate 
the increase of their populations. In the earlier days of 
Rome, the citizen who had the greatest number of legiti- 
mate children was preferred before all other candidates 
for office, and the female who remained unmarried until 
she reached the age of forty-five years, was not permitted 
to wear jewels. Louis XIV. of France, gave presents to 
women who were the mothers of ten or more children. 
It has never been found necessary to increase population 
by such means in this country. A whole continent of 
fertile soil, spread out with inviting abundance, has drawn 
millions to our shores, and the natural increase has been 
enormous. The statistics of our own county may be 
taken as a fair specimen of the rapidity with which popu- 
lation increases in the United States. In 1774, the popu- 
lation of Westmoreland, then under the jurisdiction of 
Connecticut, was 1922, scattered over a territory now in- 
cluded in Luzerne, Wyoming, Susquehanna, Bradford, and 
a portion of Wayne counties. In 1790, when the same 
territory, except Wayne, was embraced within the bound- 
aries of Luzerne, the population was 4904, or one inha- 
bitant to each square mile. In 1800 it was 12,838, 
showing an average annual increase of 793. In 1810 the 
population was 18,109, exhibiting in the preceding 



LUZERNE COUNTY. 179 



decade an average annual increase of 538. In 1820, 
without Bradford and Susquehanna, it was 20,027, and 
in 1830 it was 27,304, being an average annual increase 
of 727. In 1840 the number of inhabitants was 44,006, 
which shows an increase of 16,702 in ten years. In 
1850, without Wyoming, the population of Luzerne num- 
bered 56,072, a fraction less than 40 to a square mile- 
In the same year, Wyoming had 10,653 inhabitants, 
which, added to that of Luzerne, makes 66,725. 

The following table exhibits the classified population 
of Luzerne for the years 1850 and 1860 : 

1850. 1860. 

White males ...... 29,465 46,613 

Females 26,234 43,327 

Colored persons 373 450 

Families 9,672 15,065 

Dwellings 9,587 14,920 

Births 1,976 2,956 

Deaths 383 878 

Married 597 925 

Persons who could not read and write . . 2,228 3,981 

Persons over 100 years 3 2 

Between 90 and 100 6 8 

Blind 10 14 

Deaf and dumb 8 12 

Insane 12 16 

Number of foreigners ..... 12,567 23,486 
1830, foreigners 785. 

In 1790, Luzerne contained 11 slaves and 13 free 
colored persons; in 1800, the slaves were 18, free 78; 
in 1810, slaves 8, free 99 ; in 1820, slaves 2, free 111 ; in 
1830, there was 1 slave and 186 free; in 1840, 1 slave, 
194 free, and in 1850 there were 373 free persons of color. 

Among the old county records, we find the following : 

" To Lord Butler, Clerk of the Peace, &c. 

"June 19th, 1796. I, John Hollenback, of the town- 
ship of Wilkesbarre, county of Luzerne (miller), do 
certify, that I have a negro female child, by the name of 
Maria, born of a negro woman, which is my property. 
The child was born the 19th day of February last, and is 



180 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



four months old to-day. This negro child I desire you to 
record, agreeably to a law of the state, passed March 29th, 
1788." This law was passed in order to obviate certain 
evils and abuses which had grown up under the law of 
March 1st, 1780, enacted for the gradual abolition of 
slavery in this Commonwealth. When the law for the 
extinguishment of slavery was passed, there could not 
have been more than about 3500 slaves in the state, still 
nearly seventy years elapsed before it entirely disappeared 
from among us. It may be mentioned as a curious fact, 
that though the colored people numbered only about one- 
seventh of the whole population of the United States in 
1850, yet in the year preceding the taking of the census, 
318 of them died, while but 163 whites died, of the age 
of 100 years and upwards. 

To show the difference in the increase of population in 
the agricultural and mining townships of Luzerne, we 
give the following statistics of townships, which were not 
divided between 1840 and 1850. 

Agricultural Townships. 

1840. 1850. 

Fairmount, ..... 594 958 

Benton, 733 849 

Huntington, 1510 1747 

Salem, 1009 1130 

3846 4684 

Mining Townships. 

1840. 1850. 

Blakely, ...'... 570 1703 

Hazel, including Hazelton, . . 895 2081 
Providence, including Scranton, Hyde, 

Park, &c., 1169 4469 

2634 8253 



LUZERNE COUNTY. 181 



The agricultural districts show an increase of less than 
22 per cent., while the mining regions exhibit an increase 
exceeding 213 per cent., the latter being nearly ten times 
greater than the former. 

In 1860 the population of the foregoing townships 
was as foUows : 

Agricultural Toimiships. 

Fairmount, 1190 

Benton, . . . . . . 1150 

Huntington, . . . . . 1548 

Salem, 1396 

Mining Townships. 

Blakelj, 3751 

Hazel, including Hazelton, . . 5539 
Providence, including Scranton, Hyde 

Park, &c., 16,671 

Thus from 1850 to 1860 the agricultural districts show 
an increase of 15 per cent., while the mining regions 
exhibit an increase of 300 per cent. * 



CHAPTER VI. 
BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 

The original townships, laid out by the Susquehanna 
Land Company, are named on the accompanying county 
map in open letters, and their boundaries are designated 
by dotted lines. These were called Certified Townships, 
for the reason that the compromise law of 1799, and its 
supplements, required certificates to issue for purposes 
fully explained near the close of the chapter on the 
Pennamite and Yankee War. 

In 1780, the Luzerne Court divided the county into 
eleven townships, namely : Wilkesbarre, Pittston, Han- 
over, Newport, Exeter, Plymouth, Kingston, Salem, 
Tioga, Wyalusing, and Tunkhannock. The three last 
embraced nearly all the territory included in Bradford, 
Susquehanna, and Wyoming counties. The names of 
most of the original townships were retained, while 
others, as Bedford and Putnam, were dropped. The 
Connecticut or certified townships embraced only the 
best land, but the new division by the court extended 
the old lines, and included in each a portion of the more 
sterile and mountainous country. 

By referring to the county map the reader may learn 
the location of every borough and township ; the names 
and number of post-offices ; the canals ; the common, 
turnpike, and railroads; and, by tracing the dotted lines, 
can ascertain what proportion, if any, of each township, 

(182) 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 183 



is embraced within the coal-fields. Descriptions of the 
mountains, rivers, creeks, lakes, and ponds, have been 
given in another portion of this work, and consequently 
will not be referred to in the following sketches of the 
boroughs and townships. 

The order, as to time, in which the several boroughs 
and townships, now constituting Luzerne county, were 
formed, is as follows : — 

1790, Wilkesbarre, Hanover, Newport, Pittston, Exeter, 
Kingston, Plymouth, and Salem. 

1792, Nescopeck and Providence. 

1793, Huntington. 

1806, Abington, and Wilkesbarre borough. 
1809, Sugarloaf 
1813, Union. 

1816, Greenfield. 

1817, Dallas. 

1818, Blakely and Covington. 
1829, Lehman. 

1831, Carbondale. 

1833, Buck. 

1834, Fairmount. 
1836, Jefferson. 

1838, Benton and Lackawanna, 

1839, Butler, Denison, and HazeL 

1840, Dorrance. 

1841, Lake. 

1842, Ross, and the borough of White Haven. 

1843, FrankHn. 

1844, Newton and Jackson. 

1845, Madison, Hollenback, and Fell. 

1846, Scott. 
1848, Black Creek. 



184 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



1849, Eansom, and the borough of Providence. 

1851, Plains, Wright, and the city of Carbondale. 

1852, Jenkins, and the borough of Hyde Park. 

1853, Springbrook, and Pittston borough. 

1854, Slocum, and the borough of Waverly. 

1855, Foster. 

1856, Bear Creek, and boroughs of Scranton and Hazelton. 

1857, West Pittston borough. 

1858, Kingston borough. 

1859, The borough of New Columbus. 

1861, Shickshinny borough. 

1862, Dunmore borough. 

Abington Township, which received its name from 
Abington, in Windham county, Connecticut, was formed 
from Tunkhannock township, in 1806. The first set- 
tlements were made by people from Connecticut and 
Rhode Island, in the year 1794. Among them was 
Ephraim Leach, who made a small clearing, and erected 
a log-cabin near where Humphreyville now stands, a neat 
village, containing about twenty dwellings. Stephen 
Parker and Thomas Smith, also, cleared land and erected 
cabins north of Humphreyville, and Deacon William 
Clark and his two sons reared their cabin at Clark's 
Green, now containing about twenty dwellings. Besides 
these. Job Tripp, Robert Stone, George Gardner, James 
Dean, Ezra Dean, and Mr. Wall, settled here in the 
same year. The first saw-mills were erected on branches 
of the Tunkhannock in 1806, by James Dean and Wil- 
liam Clark, and the first church was built in 1809. "We 
entered the wilderness," says Mr. Clark, " with our knap- 
sacks on our backs, our rifles and axes in our hands, and 
depended on game for food until we cleared, and raised 
corn, which we pounded in a wooden mortar, or conveyed 
on our backs through the woods to Slocum's mill, at what 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 185 



is now Scranton." Mrs. William Clark was the first 
white woman in Abington, and the fifth was the wife 
of the Rev. John Miller. This township contains 41 
square miles, two-thirds of which are cleared and culti- 
vated, and, with the exception of Huntington, sustains 
the best agricultural character of any township in the 
county. The land is rolling, and the timber generally is 
maple, hemlock, ash, and poplar. It produces excellent 
grass, and large quantities of butter are made here, a 
considerable portion of which is sent to New York city. 
Wheat, rye, corn, oats, &c., are raised, the chief market 
of which is the Lackawanna Valley. In this township 
are 4 churches, 3 grist-mills, 9 saw-mills, 4 stores, 1 
carding-machine, and 3 taverns. Its population, in 1850, 
was 2886. (For 1860, see Appendix X.) In 1840, 335 
persons were engaged in agriculture. 

Bear Creek Township was formed from portions of 
Wilkesbarre, Pittston, Buck, Plains, and Jenkins, in 1856. 
It was settled chiefly by Jerseymen. The first log-cabin 
was built in 1786, on the old Sullivan road, about nine 
miles from Wilkesbarre ; and the second was erected by 
Arnold Colt, Esq., on the site of the tavern-stand now 
occupied by Jonathan Pursel, at the time Mr. Colt was 
constructing the Easton and Wilkesbarre turnpike. The 
first saw-mill was put up on Bear Creek, in 1800, and 
it was owned in 1807 by Oliver Helme. This is the 
largest township in the county, containing 67 square 
miles. Only one-twelfth part of it, however, is culti- 
vated. Lofty mountains cross it, interspersed with fer- 
tile spots which produce oats, corn, and buckwheat. The 
inhabitants being chiefly engaged in the lumber trade, 
consume more than they raise. The dense forests of pine 
and hemlock afford ample ranges for deer and the black 
bear, from which last the creek and township derive 



186 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



their name. It has 1 church, Methodist Episcopal, 
erected in 1857; 1 store, 1 tavern, and 8 saw-mills. 

Benton Township was formed from Nicholson in 1838, 
prior to the organization of Wyoming county. It was 
named in honor of Thomas H. Benton, United States 
Senator from Missouri. It was settled chiefly by emigrants 
from New England and New York. It contains 28 square 
miles, one-half of which is cultivated. Its timber is 
principally maple, hemlock, ash, and poplar. The land is 
rolling ; and while wheat, rye, corn, and oats are raised, 
it is well adapted to grazing. In course of time, it is pro- 
bable, some of the best dairy-farms in the country will be 
found in this township. Improved farms rate from $25 
to |45 per acre. Its market is at Scran ton and Car- 
bondale. Being an agricultural township, and undivided 
since the census of 1840, Benton will afford in 1860 fair 
data for comparing the increase of its population with 
that of the mining townships. The township contains 
1 grist-mill, 8 saw-mills, 2 churches, and 2 taverns. Its 
population in 1840, was 733; and in 1850, it was 849. 
Benton Centre, located near the middle of the township, 
is a pleasant village of about 30 dwellings. 

Black Creek Township was formed, in 1848, from 
Sugarloaf It was originally settled by farmers from 
Northampton county, between 1785 and 1790. Bernard 
Hutsinger, 'George Miller, Mr. Heaster, William Ritten- 
house, and William Idenes, were among the first who put 
up log-cabins in the township. Mr. Idenes erected the 
first saw-mill, in 1789 ; and Mr. Rittenhouse the first 
grist-mill, in 1795 — both on Black Creek. The first 
church was erected in 1817. It contains 21 square 
miles, one-third of which is improved. Its timber is 
chiefly oak, chestnut, and hemlock. The land is roll- 
ing, and is adapted to wheat, rye, buckwheat, corn, and 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 187 



oats. A market for its surplus produce is found at Hazel- 
ton, Jeansville, and Beaver Meadows. It has 5 saw- 
mills, 2 grist-mills, 2 stores, 1 church, 1 tannery, and 2 
taverns. Its population, in 1850, was 425. 

Blakely Township, was formed from Greenfield and 
Providence in 1818 ; and was named in honor of Captain 
Johnson Blakely, who commanded the United States sloop 
of war Wasp, and distinguished himself in an engagement 
with the Avon, a British sloop of war. 

The first settlement in Blakely was made by Timothy 
Stevens, in 1786 ; and in 1814 he erected the first grist- 
mill, known as Mott's Mill, on the Lackawanna. In 
1795, Nicholas F. Leuchens, the father of God Save 
Nicholas Francis Leuchens, built a log-cabin on the site 
of Pecksville. Captain John Vaughn settled in the 
township in 1797; and Moses Dolph in 1798. 

The area of Blakely is 48 square miles, with an undu- 
lating surface, one-third of which is cultivated. It pro- 
duces wheat, rye, corn, oats, &c., and being in the coal 
region has a home-market. There are several villages in 
this township. 

Archbald, named in honor of James Archbald, for 
many years chief engineer of the Delaware and Hudson 
Canal and Coal Company, contains about 300 dwellings, 
6 stores, 3 churches, 2 taverns, and 1 saw-mill. 

Jessup, named in honor of William Jessup, contains 50 
dwellings, 1 store, and 1 tavern. 

Pecksville has 20 dwellings, 1 store, 1 grist-mill, 2 saw- 
mills, 1 sash factory, and 1 paling-mill. 

Oliphant contains about 100 dwellings. It is a coal 
town, belonging to the Delaware and Hudson Canal and 
Coal Company, and has lately sprung into existence. 

Besides those in the villages there are in the township 
5 saw-mills, 1 store, 1 tavern, and 1 church. 



188 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



The population of Blakely in 1840 was 610, and in 
1850 it was 1703. This township was not divided be- 
tween 1840 and 1850, and exhibits the rapid increase of 
population in the mining districts. About one-half of its 
present inhabitants are Irish, Germans, and Welsh. In 
1840 only 4 persons were engaged in mining, and 119 in 
agriculture. 

Buck Township was formed from Covington in 1833, 
and derived its name from George Buck, who was one of 
its early settlers, and who kept the, first tavern, after- 
wards known as Terwiliger's. John Nagle was the first 
settler in Buck. He built his log-cabin on the old Sulli- 
van road, near the Lehigh, in 1782, fourteen miles from 
any human habitation. Conrad Sox, Justice Simonson, 
Samuel Wildrick, and Thomas Tattershall settled here 
soon after. Mr. Simonson is nearly one hundred years 
of age, and within the past four years has walked to 
Wilkesbarre, a distance of fifteen miles. 

The first saw-mill was erected in 1806 by Hugh Conner, 
on the site of Stoddartsville, and in 1816 the first church 
was built there by John Stoddart. 

In 1810 the Great Swamp, which extends over a con- 
siderable portion of Buck, was purchased by a company 
of Philadelphia speculators. A president and eighteen 
councilmen were elected ; and the " City of Rome" was 
laid out, one hundred miles from the seaboard, in a dark 
gloomy swamp, called the " Shades of Death" by those 
who fled through it from Wyoming after the massacre in 
1778. Three or four shipbuilders and a number of arti- 
sans of various trades were actually induced to purchase 
lots and remove to the " city," where reptiles and wild- 
beasts should alone have habitation. A respectable mer- 
chant of Philadelphia meeting a citizen of Wilkesbarre 
seriously inquired, "Will not the new and flourishing 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 189 



City of Rome become a dangerous rival of your town ?" 
The scheme was at length exposed through the columns 
of the " Gleaner," by Charles Miner, Esq., but not until 
many poor men had invested their means and removed 
to the " Shades of Death." 

Buck contains 50 square miles. Its lumber is hemlock, 
spruce, and pine, and lumbering is the chief employment 
of the inhabitants. It has 11 saw-mills, 3 stores, 3 
taverns, and 1 church ; and the people consume more of 
agricultural products than they raise. 

Stoddartsville is a town, located on the Lehigh, con- 
taining about 30 dwellings, and lies partly in Luzerne 
and partly in Monroe counties. It was laid out by John 
Stojidart, Esq., of Philadelphia, in 1815, who erected a 
large stone mill — the walls of which are yet standing — at 
a cost of $20,000. It was supplied with grain from 
Wyoming. 

Gouldsborough, pleasantly situated on the Lehigh, con- 
tains about 30 dwellings, 1 store, 2 churches, and a 
large and commodious hotel. It is connected with the 
Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad by a good 
plank-road. The large and extensive tannery of D. W. 
Lee, Esq., described in another place in this work, is 
located here. The population of the village is 450. 

Beaumont is a small village of 14 dwellings, with 1 
store and 1 tavern. It was named in honor of the late 
Andrew Beaumont of Wilkesbarre. 

The population of Buck township in 1840 was 307, 
and in 1850 it was 539. 

Butler Township was separated from Sugarloaf in 
1839, and was named in honor of Colonel Zebulon Butler. 
In 1784 John Balliet, " solitary and alone," made the jfirst 
settlement in Sugarloaf Valley, within the limits of what 
is now Butler township, on the Beisel farm, about one 



190 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



mile from Drum's. He, in company with a number of 
others from Northampton county, had visited the valley, 
a year or two previous, for the purpose of burying the 
dead soldiers who had been killed by the savages. Bal- 
liet was soon followed by Philip Wood ring, Henry Davis, 
Andrew Mowery, and George Drum, father of Abraham 
Drum, late sheriff of this county. Samuel Woodring 
erected a log grist-mill with one run of stone, and also a 
saw-mill attached, on the Nescopeck Creek in 1788. 
These were the first mills in Sugarloaf Valley. 

The area of Butler is 31 square miles, two-thirds of 
which are cleared. It embraces a portion of Sugarloaf 
Valley, and the remainder of its surface is undulating. 
Its timber is oak, hickory, and pine ; and its farms pro- 
duce wheat, rye, corn, buckwheat, oats, &c., which find 
a market at Hazelton and Jeansville. It has 10 saw- 
mills, 2 grist-mills, 2 stores, 3 taverns, and 2 churches. 

Mount Surprise is a pleasant village in Butler, contain- 
ing about 20 dwellings. 

The population of the township in 1840 was 514, and 
in 1850 it was 725. 

Carbondale Township was formed from Blakely and 
G-reenfield in 1831. C. E. Wilbur, now a resident of 
Jefferson, and upwards of ninety years of age, was one 
of the first settlers in Carbondale, about the year 1800. 
It was he who first discovered the coal, near the Lacka- 
wanna, now in the third ward of the city of Carbondale. 
In 1812 William Wurts, under the guidance of Mr. Wil- 
bur, explored this region, and discovered coal at several 
places in the township. This induced him and his 
brother Maurice to purchase property here, then owned 
by Mr. Russell, of Northumberland county. These enter- 
prising men, in 1824, erected the first log-house in Car- 
bondale for the accommodation of themselves and laborers. 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 



191 



But there was then no outlet or market for coal, and little 
or nothing was accomplished in this business until the 
organization of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, 
and the completion of the railroad to Carbondale in 1828. 
The township contains an area of 23 square miles. 
Its surface is rugged though not sterile, and being un- 
derlaid with anthracite coal, like other mining regions, 
agriculture has not received much attention from its 
inhabitants. In 1840 the number of persons engaged in 
mining was 252, and in agriculture 32. Its population 
in 1840, including the city, was 2398. In 1850, without 
the city, it was 459. (For 1860, see Appendix X.) 




FIRST HOUSE BUILT IN CARBONDALE. 



Carbondale Citt was incorporated by Act of Assembly 
in 1851. Prior to that time it was a borough which, in 
1850, contained 4945 inhabitants. The first dwelling in 
the place was built by Maurice Wurts, Esq., in 1824, 
and for some years was used as a boarding-house, and 
called the " Log Tavern." 

In the year 1828 a Catholic church was built; also a 



192 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY, 



Union church, occupied by Protestants, and a school- 
house. With a few exceptions, the following-named 
gentlemen are the only persons residing in Carbondale, 
who located there prior to 1830 : Dr. T. Sweet, D. N. 
Lathrop, John M. Poor, S. E. Rayner, Samuel Mills, R. 
E. Marvin, Henry Johnson, Stephen Rogers, and D. 
Yarington. 

There are a court-house and jail here, and a recorder's 
court for the city is held four times in each year by the 
Hon. John N. Conyngham. There is also a mayor's court 
held four times a year. 

The city contains 56 dealers in merchandise, 24 restau- 
rants, 5 hotels, and 8 churches; also 2 machine shops, 
and 3 foundries. There is only one brick building in 
the city. 

The present population is estimated at 7000, of whom 
probably three-fourths, including the children of foreigners, 
are native born Americans. (See Appendix X.) About one- 
half of the adult population is thought to be foreign born. 

Covington Township was formed from Wilkesbarre in 
the year 1818, and was named in honor of Brigadier- 
General Covington, of the United States Army, who fell 
in the battle of Williamsburg, Canada West, during the 
war of 1812. 

Between 1787 and 1791, Henry Drinker, Jr., of Phila- 
delphia, father of H. W. and Richard Drinker, purchased 
25,000 acres of beech land, known as "Drinker's Beech," 
lying in Luzerne, Wayne, and Pike counties. In 1792 
John Delong was employed to cut a road to these lands 
from the Lehigh, and in 1815 a clearing was made, and 
the first log-house was erected in Covington by H. W. 
Drinker, Esq. The land was sold at ^5 per acre, and 
began to be settled by a hardy pioneer race of men, 
among whom were Michael Mitchell, Lawrence Dersher- 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 198 



mer, John Webster, Ebeiiezer Covey, John and William 
Ross, William Copeland, J. and L. Stull, J. Wragg, 
John Simpson, and E. Wardell. Mr. Wardell erected the 
first house in Daleville. Holmes & Eastley put up the 
first saw-mill in 1821 ; the first church was erected in 
1828, and the first grist-mill, by Levi Depew, in 1830, on 
Bear Creek. 

Covington- contains 34 square miles, one-eighth of 
which is cultivated. Its timber is beech, maple, and 
hemlock, and its soil is adapted to grass and the coarse 
grains. There are in the township 6 saw-mills, 3 taverns, 
2 stores, and 2 churches. Its villages are Daleville and 
Turnersville, the former containing about 12 and the 
latter about 8 dwelling-houses. 

The population of the township in 1850 was 650. 

Dallas Township was formed from Kingston in 1817, 
and embraces a portion of one of the certified townships 
called Bedford. It was named in honor of Alexander J. 
Dallas, of Philadelphia. 

Ephraim McCoy, a revolutionary soldier, erected the 
first log-cabin in Dallas, near the site of McClellandsville, 
in 1797. E. and D. Spencer, J. Mears, J. and J. Honey- 
well, Jr., J. Wait, J. Kelley, and Isaac Montanye were 
among the first settlers. The first saw-mill was built by 
Jude Baldwin, on a branch of Toby's Creek, in 1813, and 
the first church in 1851. The area of this township is 
twenty-one square miles, three-fifths of which are cleared 
and cultivated. Its timber is pine, oak, chestnut, and 
hickory. Its surface is undulating, and its soil is adapted 
to grass, as well as wheat, rye, corn, &c. Improved farms 
are valued at from $30 to $45 per acre. It has 8 saw^- 
mills, 2 stores, 1 tavern, and 1 church. Its market 
is at Wilkesbarre and Pittston. Large quantities of 
butter, packed in tubs, are monthly taken to Wyoming 

13 



194 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



village, and sent thence on the Lackawanna and Blooms- 
burg Railroad to Goshen, New York. From that place 
it is transported to New York city market. The best 
butter produced by our dairy farmers, not only in Dallas 
but in other townships, goes to a foreign market. 

The town of McClellandsville contains 15 dwellings. 
The population of the township, in 1850, was 904. 

Denison Township w^as formed in 1839 from Hanover, 
and was named in honor of Colonel Nathan Denison. It 
w\as first settled by Germans, from Northampton county, 
about the year 1798. It contains 39 square miles, 
one-eighth of which is cleared. Its surface is nigged and 
mountainous, and its timber is principally hemlock, pine, 
and oak. Lumbering is the chief employment of the 
inhabitants, who consume more than they raise of agri- 
cultural products. It has 9 saw-mills, 1 store, and 2 
taverns, but no grist-mill and no church. Their school- 
houses are occupied for religious services. 

There is a small village in Denison called Port Jen- 
kins, situated at the head of the Lehigh navigation. 

The population of this township, in 1850, then in- 
cluding White Haven and Foster township, was 1517. 

Dorrance Township was formed from Newport, in 
1840, and was named in honor of Lieutenant-Colonel 
George Dorrance, who fell in the battle at Wyoming, 
July 3d, 1778. Its original settlers came from North- 
ampton county, about the year 1785. It contains 28 
square miles, of which one-fifth is cleared. Its surface 
is rough and mountainous, but produces rye, corn, buck- 
wheat, oats, &c., which find a market at Wilkesbarre 
and Hazelton. Oak, hemlock, white and yellow pine, 
are the prevailing species of timber. There are 4 saw- 
mills, 1 grist-mill, 1 tavern in Dorrance, but no store 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 



195 



and no church. Preaching is done in the school-houses. 
The population, in 1850, was 420. 

Exeter Township is one of the original or certified 
townships, and retained its name on the division by the 
court, in 1790. Its name is derived from Exeter, in 
Rhode Island. 

James Sutton put up the first saw and grist mills in 
Exeter, in the year 1776, on a small stream four miles 
above the battle-ground. The mills and his dwelling, all 
log-buildings, were burnt by the enemy in 1778, and the 
mill-irons were carried away, except the crank, which 
may now be found in the collection of the Wyoming His- 
torical and Geological Society. Forts Jenkins and Winter- 
moot were located in this township, and a portion of the 
ground, where the battle of July 3d, 1778, was fought, 
lies within its bounds. The township line crosses the 
plain a short distance below the Old Jenkins House, 
which stands on the site of Wintermoot Fort. In 1796, 
when it included Ransom and Franklin townships, it con- 
tained 70 taxable inhabitants,* 41 horses, and 165 head 
of horned cattle. 

On the 22d of February, 1794, a subscription for funds 
to erect a meeting-house was started in Exeter, and the 
following subscribers, with the sums to be given, were 
obtained : — 

John Jenkins, £5 



James Scovell, 
Benjamin .Smith, 
Elisha Scovell, 
Thomas Jenkins, 



The oldest residents of the township are William Love, 
aged 77, John Shales, 75, Mrs. Hoover, 75. 



For names of taxables, see Appendix, K. 



196 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Extiter contains an area of 23 square miles, of wliicli 
one-half is cleared and imj)roved, producing the usual 
grains of the country. Its markets are Pittston, Scranton, 
and Wilkesbarre. It has 3 saw-mills, 1 grist-mill, 1 
plaster-mill, 1 church and 1 tavern. 

The population in 1850 was 833. 

Fairmount Township was formed from Huntington in 
1834, and lies in the north-west corner of the county. 
The first saw-mills, in Fairmount, were erected about the 
year 1837, on Huntington Creek and Maple Run, by 
Shadrach Lay cock and Peter Boston. 

This township contains 44 square miles, of which one- 
tenth is cleared and cultivated. The surface is undu- 
lating, and the soil yields wheat, rye, corn, buckwheat, 
and oats. The timber is principally pine, hemlock, and 
oak. Hazelton is the market for its produce. It has 15 
saw-mills and 1 tavern, but no grist-mill and no church. 

Its population in 1840 was 594, and in 1850 it was 958. 

Fell Township was formed from Carbondale in 1845. 
It occupies the extreme north-east corner of the county. 
It was named in honor of Jesse Fell, Esq., who, for many 
years, was an associate judge of our county courts. Its 
area is 19 square miles, being generally rugged and 
mountainous, with a few arable spots. Its timber is 
hemlock, oak, and pine chiefly. Only one-seventh of the 
township is cleared, which produces rye, oats, and buck- 
wheat. These find a market at Carbondale. It has 2 
saw-mills, 1 store, 1 tavern, 1 large tannery, and 1 sash 
factory, but no church and no grist-mill. 

Its population in 1850 was 356. 

Foster Township was formed from Denison in 1855, 
and was named in honor of Asa L. Foster, one of its early 
settlers. The few original settlers were from Northampton 
county; but mining becoming the chief employment, the 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 197 



present population are mostly Germans, Irish, Scotch, and 
Welsh. Thomas Morrison made the first clearing in 
1837, and erected a saw-mill on Pond Creek in 1851. 
To this James Morrison attached a grist-mill in the same 
year. In 1854, Richard Sharp, George Belford, Francis 
Weiss, William Reed, A. L. Foster, and John Leisenring, 
explored a considerable tract of land belonging to the estate 
of the late Tench Coxe of Philadelphia, with a view to the 
establishment of coal works. Their examination proving 
satisfactory, they erected a steam saw-mill, at a cost of 
$7000, and commenced operations at Fillmore, now Eckley, 
but then a wilderness. In 1855, they shipped 2000 tons 
of coal, and have since increased it to 110,000 tons per 
annum. 

Foster contains a territory of 50 square miles, but 
only a small portion of it is adapted to agriculture, being 
generally mountainous. Its inhabitants consume of agri- 
cultural products more than they raise. 

Eckley is a village containing 130 dwellings, 1 store, a 
large and commodious hotel, 2 churches, 2 private schools, 
and about 800 inhabitants. 

Franklin Township was formed from portions of King- 
ston, Exeter, and Dallas in 1843, and was named in 
honor of John Franklin, one of the first settlers of Wyo- 
ming. It was settled principally by people from New 
Jersey and New York. The first saw-mill in its territory 
was erected on Sutton Creek by Mr. Munson in 1808. 
The first and only grist-mill was built in the same year 
on the same stream by Elijah Brace, and was rebuilt, in 
1828, by Conrad Kunckle. The first church was put up 
in 1835. William Brace, Benjamin Chandler, and James 
Hadersel are among the oldest inhabitants now living in 
the township. 

Franklin contains 16 square miles, one half of which 



198 • ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



is under cultivation. Oak, hemlock, and pine abound 
in its forests. The soil is adapted to grazing, and 
excellent butter is made in this locality, which also pro- 
duces the usual grains. Its market is at Pittston ; and 
though small in territory, its agricultural capacity is very 
fine. The township has 2 saw-mills, 1 store, 1 church, 
and 1 tavern. 

Orange is a pleasant village, containing 14 dwellings. 

The population of Franklin in 1850 was 642. 

Greenfield Township was separated from Abington in 
1816, and then included a portion of the country known 
as the " Beech Woods." Its original settlers came from 
Connecticut and Rhode Island in 1797, but since then 
many Germans have purchased lands and located within 
its bounds. Among the first settlers in this and the 
adjoining township of Scott, were Elijah Hobbs, Hosea 
Phillips, Joseph Sackett, Joseph Barry, Isaac Finch, 
Joseph Waller, Daniel Waller, Nathan Weatherly, Levi 
Weatherly, Mr. Howe, and Newton Nokes. The wife of 
Mr, Nokes was lost, at one time, in the woods for five 
days, subsisting on roots and berries, and spent one night 
in a tree-top, surrounded by howling wolves. The first 
saw-mill here was put up by the Rev. William Robinson 
in 1813. Henry Austin erected the first grist-mill, and 
the Methodists the first church in 1851. 

Greenfield has an area of 25 square miles. Its surface 
is undulating, one-third of which is cleared, and it pro- 
duces wheat, rye, oats, buckwheat, corn, &c., which find 
a market at Carbondale. It is adapted to grazing and 
stock growing. Within its territory are 5 saw-mills, 1* 
grist-mill, 2 churches, and 1 tavern. 

Its population in 1850 was 869. 

Hanover Township is one of the original townships 
laid out by the Susquehanna Land Company. It was 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 199 



called, in the first place, Nanticoke, from the Nanticoke 
Indians, who had a village near the site of the present 
village of Nanticoke. But in 1770 it was granted to 
Captain Lazarus Stewart and his associates, who changed 
the name to Hanover, from the region of country called 
Hanover, their former home, now included in the county 
of Dauphin. The first building in Hanover was a block 
house, erected by Captain Lazarus Stewart in 1771. Itis 
location was near the Susquehanna, on the lot belonging 
to the estate of the late- Alexander Jameson, Esq., two 
miles below Wilkesbarre. It was one and a half stories 
high, with an overshoot and loopholes, and it had four 
rooms on the first floor. The second house was put up 
by Lieutenant Lazarus Stewart, in the same year, on the 
lot now the property of Messrs. Stewart Sively and 
Benjamin Pfouts. The first church, also the first in the 
county, was put up in 1777, near the site of the German 
Reformed Church. The first grist-mill was a log structure 
with one run of stone, built by Mr. Delano, on the site 
of the present Beehe Mill, in 1783. 

On the division of the county into eleven townships, in 
1790, the boundaries of Hanover, as before stated, were 
extended, and in 1796, when it included Wright, Denison, 
and Foster, it contained 91 taxable inhabitants,-}" 58 
horses. 111 oxen, and 152 cows. 

The present area of Hanover is 25 square miles, 
two-thirds of which are cleared; but as a considerable 
portion of the land is owned by coal companies, farms, 
once well cultivated and ' productive, are now neglected. 
There are several farms, however, in a good state of " 
cultivation, which yield abundantly to the profit of their =" 
owners. It has within its territory 3 grist-mills, 2 saw-^® 
mills, 4 stores, 3 churches, 2 taverns, and 1 tannery. '^' 

* See p. 115, for engraving of this building, 
t For names of taxables, see Appendix, L. 



200 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



The villages of Nanticoke, Peastown, and Hendricks- 
burg, contain each about thirty dwellings. 

The population of Hanover, in 1850, including Wright, 
was 1506. In 1840 there were 53 persons engaged in 
mining, and 200 in agriculture. 

Hazel Township was formed from a portion of Sugar- 
loaf, in 1839, and was so called from the great quantity 
of hazel bushes growin-g in its territory. 

The first saw-mill in Hazel was erected on Hazel Creek 
in 1810, and stood within the present limits of the 
borough of Hazelton. John Charles, while digging in the 
earth for a ground-hog in 1826, discovered the first coal 
at the old Hazelton mines. The oldest residents in the 
township are Anthony Fisher, Joseph Fisher, Casper 
Thomas, Conrad Horn, and Adam Winters. 

Lewis Davenport is the oldest resident of the borough 
of Hazelton, 

The area of Hazel is 49 square miles, but being a 
mountainous country, only a small portion of it is sus- 
ceptible of cultivation. Its timber is chiefly yellow pine, 
used for props in the mines. Mining is the principal 
employment of the people. 

Jeansville derives its name from Mr. Jeans, the original 
owner of the coal lands and projector of the works in the 
vicinity. Its population is about 1500. It contains 1 
church, 1 store, 1 tavern, and 1 foundry and machine- 
shop. The coal mines are now worked by William 
Milnes & Co. 
; Stockton contains about 130 dwellings, 1 church, 1 
s store, and 1 tavern. Its mines are worked by Packer, 
gLockhart & Co. 

Jeddo is a village of about 100 dwellings. The popu- 
ation of Hazel, in 1840, was 893, of whom 21 were 
lai 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 201 



engaged in agriculture, and 207 in mining. In 1850 the 
pojDulation was 2081. 

Hazelton Borough was incorporated in 1856, and owes 
its prosperity mainly to the Hazelton Coal Company. 
The streets cross each other at right angles, and the 
dwellings generally are constructed of wood. It has 4 
dry goods stores, 1 drug store, 3 churches, 4 taverns, 1 
foundry and 1 machine shop, and 1 steam grist-mill. 

HoLLENBACK TowNSHiP was Separated from Nescopeck 
in 1845, and was named in honor of Matthias Hollenback, 
Esq., one of the first associate judges of the county courts. 

It has been said by some of the oldest inhabitants of 
Hollenback that the famous Grasshopper War between 
the Delaware and Shawnee Indians occurred on a plain 
lying at the junction of the Wapwallopen Creek with the 
Susquehanna, where numerous aboriginal graves have 
been found. 

A few substantial German farmers, from Northampton 
county, settled in the territory of Hollenback as early as 
1789 ; but in 1796 it did not contain more than 10 tax- 
able inhabitants. 

The area of this township is 38 square miles, one-fifth 
of which is cleared. The surface is undulating, and the 
soil, naturally good, is improving under judicious cultiva- 
tion. It produces wheat, rye, corn, oats, &c., which find 
a market at Hazelton. Its timber is pine, oak, hemlock, 
and chestnut. It has 6 saw-mills, 3 grist-mills, 2 powder- 
mills, 3 churches, and 1 tavern. Its population in 1850 
was 742. 

Huntington Township was formed from a portion of 
Salem in 1793, and named in honor of Samuel Hunting- 
ton, a native of Windham, Connecticut, and who was one 
of the immortal signers of the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence. 



202 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



The first settlement in this township was made on the 
Huntington Creek by John FrankUn, in 1775. He 
erected a log-cabin, and spent the summer alone in the 
wilderness, not beholding the face of a white man for five 
months. 

The first grist-mill was a log structure, with one run 
of stone, and a saw-mill attached, erected by Mr. Hop- 
kins, in 1788, on a branch of the Huntington Creek. 
The tract on which the mill stood had been donated for 
that purpose, several years before, by the Susquehanna 
Land Company. In 1798, Nathan Beach, Esq., put up 
a mill on Marsh's Creek, now known as Rogers's Mill. 
Bacon's fulling and carding mill was erected in 1817. 
The first church, used also for school purposes, was 
erected in 1808, and the Pine Grove Church in 1818. 

In 1796 Huntington contained 92 taxable inhabitants,* 
27 horses, 165 head of horned cattle, and 90 dwellings 
and other buildings. 

This township has an area of 29 square miles, of which 
one-half is cleared and cultivated, producing excellent 
crops of grain. It is perhaps the best cultivated township 
in the county. Large quantities of its produce are con- 
veyed to Hazelton, Jeansville, and to other places, for 
consumption. Their land is greatly benefited by the 
application of lime, which the farmers procure from the 
kilns near Berwick in Columbia county. 

In Huntington are 10 saw-mills, 6 grist-mills, 6 stores, 
7 churches, 3 taverns, and 2 carding and fulling mills. 

Harveyville, Cambria, and Town Hill are pleasant vil- 
lages, containing from 10 to 25 dwellings each. The 
population of the township in 1840 was 1510, of whom 
252 were engaged in agriculture. In 1850 the population 
was 1747. 

* For names of taxables, see Appendix, M. 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 203 



Hyde Park Borough was incorporated in 1852, prior 
to which it was a portion of the township of Providence. 
It has improved, for several years, with great rapidity. 
It has 13 dry goods and grocery stores, 4 churches, 3 
hotels, 1 foundry and machine-shop, and 1 tannery. In 
1840 it contained only 6 or 8 dwellings, and was called 
originally "Fellows' Corner," from Mr. Fellows, an old 
resident. There are two coal openings or slopes in the 
borough, belonging to Thomas Howell & Co., and to the 
Hyde Park Company, both connecting with the Delaware, 
Lackawanna, and Western Railroad. The buildings are 
chiefly of wood, two-stories high, and neatly painted. The 
private residences and streets are ornamented with shade- 
trees. Its population is about 1300. (See Appendix X.) 

Jackson Township was formed from a portion of Ply- 
mouth in 1844, and was named in honor of General 
Andrew Jackson. The first settlement was made by 
Palmer Ransom in 1795. He was followed by John 
Lomereaux, Levi Brunson, Jesse Brown, Major B. Fuller, 
Joseph Reynolds, and others. 

The area of Jackson is 15 square miles, of which a 
fourth part only is cultivated. Its timber is chiefly oak, 
hemlock, and pine. Its surface is undulating, and its 
soil produces the usual grains, which find a market at 
Plymouth and Wilkesbarre. It is improving, particularly 
as a dairy township. A considerable quantity of lumber 
is manufactured, and taken to the canal and railroad 
below West Nanticoke. 

It has 9 saw-mills, 3 grist-mills, 1 church, 1 store, and 
1 tavern. The church, store, and tavern are located in 
Huntsville, which contains about 30 dwellings. This 
village received its name from Mr. Plunt, one of the early 
settlers. 

The population of Jackson in 1850 was 592. 



204 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Jefferson Township was separated from Blakely in 
1836, and was named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, It 
was settled chiefly by Jerseymen and Germans. The 
first settlement was made in 1784 by Asa Cobb, and the 
second, near the Wayne county line, by Mr. Potter in 
1795. 

Dr. Hollister, in his work on the Lackawanna Valley, 
relates that the wife of John Cobb once found a wolf 
destroying her husband's stock during his absence from 
home, and boldly attacked and killed the beast with a 
pitchfork. Forwarding the scalp to Wilkesbarre^ she re- 
ceived the lawful bounty. 

Jacob Keiser, in 1831, erected a saw-mill on Reiser's 
Creek. 

Jefferson contains 39 square miles, of which one-sixth 
part is cleared land. It is mountainous in part, with 
some good farms interspersed in the small valleys. It 
produces abundantly of the coarser grains, and its market 
is at Scranton and Dunmore. The prevailing species of 
timber are oak, chestnut, beech, and hemlock. It has 5 
saw-mills, 1 store, 1 church, and 1 tavern. 

The population of this township in 1850 was 414. 

Jenkins Township was separated from Pittston in 1852, 
and was named in honor of Colonel John Jenkins, one 
of the first settlers in the Wyoming Valley. It is the 
smallest township in the county, extending over an area 
of only 14 square miles. The first grist-mill in Jenkins 
was erected on Gardner's Creek, in 1794, by Joseph Gard- 
ner and Isaac Gould. Peter Winters, aged 74, and Letitia 
Cotant, aged 71, are the oldest inhabitants in this town- 
ship. About one-half of its territory is cleared, but is 
chiefly the property of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, 
for which the company annually pays taxes exceeding 
11800. 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 205 



Port Griffith, named in honor of Mr. Griffith, one of 
the original stockholders in the Pennsylvania Coal Com- 
pany, is a village containing 2 stores, 1 tavern, and 150 
dwellings. It is the terminus of the company's railroad. 

Port Blanchard, named in honor of John Blanchard. 
one of the first coal operators, contains 5 dwellings and 1 
tavern. 

The population of the township is chiefly Irish and 
Welsh. 

Kingston Township is one of the townships formed 
under the authority of the Susquehanna Land Company ; 
and is also one of the eleven, with enlarged boundaries, 
into which Luzerne was divided in 1790. It has since 
been considerably diminished by the formation of new 
townships. It derived its name from Kingston in Rhode 
Island, and was called by the first settlers " Kingstown." 

Among the forty persons who entered the Wyoming 
Valley in 1769, under the auspices of the Susquehanna 
Land Company, was Mr. Ezra Dean, whose wife was a 
native of Kingston, in Rhode Island. After the several 
tracts had been assigned by lot, and the party was seated 
under a tree on the flats, Mr. Dean proposed to furnish a 
.art of good Connecticut whiskey for the privilege of 
naming the township. The proposition was accepted, 
and in compliment to his " better half" he gave the name 
Kingstown ; whereupon each one of the company, one 
after another, repeated " Kingstown," and then moistened 
his mouth with a little whiskey. 

A portion of the plain lying in this township was 
called Abram's Plain, from Abram a chief of the Mohican 
Indians. These Indians also had a village near Forty 
Fort, on Abram's Creek. 

Forty Fort stood within the present limits of Kingston 



206 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



on the river, a short distance below the present church, 
about 80 feet from the water. 

The first saw-mill was erected by James Sutton, on 
Toby's Creek, in the spring of 1778. 

In 1796, Kingston, then including Dallas and parts of 
Lake and Franklin, contained 100 taxables,* 78 horses, 
and 241 head of horned cattle. 

The area of Kingston is 29 square miles. It embraces 
several excellent farms, but, like other townships in the 
coal-field, its lands do not sustain the high agricultural 
character of which they are capable. The highlands are 
adapted to grass, and in common with the territory lying 
west of the Kingston and Plymouth, or Shawnee Moun- 
tains, they are destined to become an excellent dairy and 
stock growing region. 

Kingston township contains 8 grist-mills, 6 saw-mills, 1 
chopping-mill, 6 churches, 6 stores, 4 tanneries, 2 card- 
ing and fulling mills, 3 taverns, and the works of the 
Kingston Coal Company. 

Wyoming Village, formerly called New Troy, contains 
about 40 dwellings, 3 stores, 2 churches, and 2 taverns, 
and is situated in the neighborhood where the battle was 
fought. The Monument, Wyoming Institute, and the 
Fair Grounds are in the same locality. 

Trucksville contains about 30 dwellings, 1 store, and 
1 church. 

Forty Fort is a collection of 6 or 8 dwellings, with 1 
store, and 1 church. It was the formidable rival of 
Wilkesbarre for the county seat, in 1786. 

In 1840 there were 11 persons engaged in mining Id 
this township, and 273 in agriculture. 

In 1850 its population was 2454. 



* For names of taxables, see Appendix, N. 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 207 



Kingston Borough was incorporated in 1858, and con- 
tains about 80 dwellings, 4 stores, 2 churches, and 2 
taverns. The Wyoming Seminary is located here. 

Lackawanna Township was formed from portions of 
Providence and Pittston, in 1838. 

The first saw and grist mills in Lackawanna were built 
by the town (then Pittston), at the Falls on the Lacka- 
wanna river, in the year 1774. The next year they 
passed into the possession of Solomon Strong, and soon 
after were swept away by a flood. In 1779, Mr. Keys 
put up a saw-mill on Keiser's Creek, and the lumber for 
Lord Butler's dwelling-house, in the village of Wilkes- 
barre, was manufactured here and floated down the river. 
A ,saw-mill and a small log grist-mill were erected on 
Mill Creek, by Samuel Miller, in 1782. 

Among the oldest residents are Erastus Smith, Joh 
Knapp, H. H. Winter, Michael Frederick, James Scott, 
and Charles Drake. John Atherton is the oldest native- 
born resident of the township, being 68 years of age. 

Lackawanna contains 15 square miles, two-thirds of 
which are cleared, producing wheat, rye, corn, oats, and 
buckwheat, which are consumed within its own bounds. 
It has 5 saw-mills, 1 grist-mill, 1 powder-mill, 3 stores, 3 
churches, and 3 taverns. 

Taylorsville contains about 200 dwellings, and is the 
place where the Union Iron and Coal Company carry on 
their operations. 

Belleview is a collection of about 50 dwellings, where 
there are 4 coal openings, the property of the Delaware, 
Lackawanna, and Western Railroad Company. 

Hampton has 30 dwellings, which is also the property 
of the last-mentioned company. 

At the Dunson Works there are 4 coal openings, and 
about 40 dwellings. 



208 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



The New York and Scranton Coal Company have 1 
coal opening, with 30 dwellings. 

In 1840 no one was engaged in mining in this territory, 
but there were 61 persons, employed in agriculture, and 
its whole population was 363. In 1850 it was 389. 

Lake Township was formed in 1841 from parts of 
Lehman and Monroe, and took its name from Harvey's 
Lake, which is located in this township. In 1842 a 
portion of the township was cut off, in the formation 
of Wyoming county. ^ Its area is 34 square miles, of 
which an eighth part is cleared. It is mountainous 
and hilly, and adapted to grazing. Its timber is pine, 
oak, and hemlock mainly. It has 5 saw-mills, 1 planjng 
and lath mill, and 1 grist-mill, but no store, no church, 
and no tavern. Religious meetings are held in the 
school-houses. 

The mills of Hollenback and Urquhart are located on 
the outlet of Harvey's Lake, where 1,000,000 feet of 
lumber are annually manufactured. 

Harvey's Lake is destined to become one of the most 
popular summer retreats in the state. Many thousands 
of dollars have been expended in a building on its shore 
for the accommodation of visitors, whose number is an- 
nually increasing. It is to be hoped that all persons, 
owning timber lands surrounding the lake, will protect 
them from the woodman's axe, that the locality may not 
be shorn of its primitive grandeur and beauty. 

The population of Lake in 1850 was 383. 

Lehman Township was separated from Dallas in 1829, 
and was named in honor of Dr. William Lehman, of 
Philadelphia, who, at that time, was a member of the 
General Assembly of Pennsylvania, and had strenuously 
advocated the extension and immediate completion of the 
state canals. 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 209 



The Ides and Browns were the first settlers m this 
township. In 1806 Joseph Worthington settled on Har- 
vey's Creek, and cut a road from the place where Elijah 
Ide now lives to Harvey's Lake. At this time there was 
not a single house within three-quarters of a mile of the 
lake. 

Lehman contains 22 square miles. Its surface is undu- 
lating, one-third of which is cleared and cultivated, being 
adapted to grazing and the coarser grains. Its market is 
at Wilkesbarre. It has 9 saw-mills, 2 churches, 1 store, 
and 1 tavern, but no grist-mill. 

Lehman Centre is a village of about 15 dwellings, 
where the 2 churches of the township are located. 

The population of Lehman in 1850 was 558. 

Madison Township was taken off from Jefferson and 
Covington in 1845, and was named in honor of James 
Madison, one of the Presidents of the United States. The 
first settlements in Madison were made in 1824 by John 
Besecker, Barnabas Carey, Richard Edwards, Nathaniel 
Carter, Jacob Swartz, and John Koon. The first saw- 
mill was erected in 1826, on Roaring Brook, by Peter 
Rupert. The first church was built in 1849. 

The area of Madison is 28 square miles, one-third of 
which is cleared, producing wheat, rye, corn, oats, &c. 
Some parts of the township are rugged, and the prevail- 
ing timber is beech, hemlock, and ash. 

Madison contains 1 grist-mill, 1 saw-mill, and 2 
churches not in the villages. 

Moscow is a flourishing village, on the Delaware, Lack- 
awanna, and Western Railroad, containing 30 dwellings, 
2 churches, 2 stores, 2 tanneries, and 1 saw-mill. 

Dunning, named in honor of A. Dunning, Esq., con- 
tains 25 dwellings, 2 saw-mills, 1 tannery, 1 church, 1 
store, and 1 tavern. 

14 



210 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



The population of the township in 1850 was 579. 

New Columbus Borough was incorporated in 1859. It 
contains 50 dwellings, 3 stores, and 1 tavern. The office 
of the Huntington Valley Insurance Company is located 
here ; also an excellent Academy, under the charge of 
A. J. Furman, Esq. ; students during past year, 270. 
The first dwelling was erected in New Columbus, by the 
Hon. John Koons, about fifty years ago. 

Its population in 1850 was included in that of Hun- 
tington township. 

Nescopeck Township was separated from Newport in 
1792. Jacob Smithers, Jacob Shover, Martin Arner, and 
Jacob Seyberling settled in the territory of this township 
in 1791, on the banks of the Nescopeck Creek, near its 
mouth. In 1796, including HoUenback, Sugarloaf, But- 
ler, Black Creek, and Hazel townships, it contained 31 
taxables,* 36 horses, 58 head of horned cattle, 3 grist- 
mills, and 3 saw-mills. In 1797 Harvey D. Walker built 
a grist and saw-mill about one mile from Nescopeck Vil- 
lage. The first church was erected in 1811, on the turn- 
pike, by the Lutherans and German Reformed members, 
about four miles from the village. 

This township contains 28 square miles, a portion of 
which is mountainous, and the remainder is flat or river 
bottom and rolling land. Its timber is chiefly oak, 
chestnut, and hemlock, and its soil is adapted to wheat, 
rye, oats, and com. Its market is Hazelton. It has 3 
saw-mills, 2 grist-mills, 1 carding and fulling mill, 1 forge, 
2 stores, 2 churches, and 3 taverns. 

Nescopeck Village is built on the site of an ancient 
town of the Delaware Indians. It was the rendezvous 
of the hostile savages, during the French and Indian war, 



* For names of taxables, see Appendix, 0. 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 211 



upwards of one hundred years ago. It has about 20 
dweUings, 1 store, and 1 tavern. The Nescopeck Insur- 
ance Company has its office here. The southern line of 
Luzerne crosses the Susquehanna at this place, cutting 
the Nescopeck bridge diagonally about midway. 

The population of Nescopeck township in 1850 was 
920. 

Newport Township was one of the original townships 
under Connecticut jurisdiction, and retained its name in 
the new division made by the court in 1790. It derived 
its name from Newport in Rhode Island. The first set- 
tlement in Newport was made by Major Prince Alden, 
in 1772, on the property now owned by Colonel Wash- 
ington Lee. A few years after this his sons, Mason F. 
and John Alden, erected a forge on Nanticoke Creek. In 
the same year Mr. Chapman put up a log grist-mill, with 
one run of stone, neair the forge. This was the only mill 
ill Wyoming that escaped destruction from floods and 
from the torch of the savage. In 1780 this mill was 
guarded by armed men, and, as far as possible, it met the 
wants of the public, but many of the settlers were com- 
pelled to carry their grain to Stroud's mill, at Strouds- 
'burg, a distance of fifty miles. 

Newport, in 1799, including Slocum and Dorrance, con- 
tained 49 taxable inhabitants,* 31 horses, 130 head of 
horned cattle, 3 mills, and 1 forge. 

The area of this township is 19 square miles, one-half 
of which is cleared land. It is very undulating, and at 
one time produced a considerable quantity of grain ; but 
for several years past its farming interest has been declin- 
ing. Considerable tracts of land have passed into the 
hands of coal companies, and a good portion of the old 

* For names of taxables, see Appendix, P. 



212 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



farming population lias removed to other localities. The 
companies seem to take no interest in the improvement 
of their lands, further than to rent them for sufficient to 
pay the taxes. Its fences and buildings generally indicate 
a mining district, and that its agricultural glory has 
departed. Its timber is principally oak, hickory, and 
hemlock. 

It contains 2 saw-mills, 2 grist-mills, 1 store, 2 churches, 
and 3 taverns. 

In 1840 it had but 1 person engaged in mining, and 
148 in agriculture. Its population in 1850 was 868. 

.Newton Township. When Wyoming county was set 
off" from Luzerne, the dividing line passed through what 
was then called Falls township, and that portion of it 
remaining in this county was organized in 1844, under 
the name of Newton. This name is derived from New- 
ton, in Sussex county. New Jersey.' 

Among the first settlers in this township were Henry 
Litts, Elias Smith, Jacob Biesecker, and Henry Beemer. 
They were chiefly from New Jersey. Elias Smith erected 
the first saw-mill, on Gardner's Creek, in 1818. The first 
church was built in 1848. 

The area of Newton is 24 square miles, two-thirds of 
which is cleared land. The surface is undulating, and 
its soil produces the usual grains of the country. A con- 
siderable quantity of butter is made in this township. 
Its produce finds a market at Pittston and Scranton. It 
has 4 saw-mills, 3 stores, 2 churches, 2 taverns, and 1 
carding and fulling mill, but no grist-mill. 

Newton Centre, a village of 30 dwellings, contains the 
stores and churches before mentioned. 

The population of Newton township in 1850 was 819. 

Pittston Township was one of the old Connecticut 
townships, which retained its name on. tlie second divi- 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 213 



sion in 1790. It was named in honor of the distinguished 
Enghsh statesman, William Pitt, the elder, and was ori- 
ginally called " Pittstown." 

The first house in Pittston was a log building put up 
in 1770, by Zebulon Marcy. During the next five or six 
years settlements were made by the Browns, Benedicts, 
St. Johns, Baldwins, Bennets, Hopkins, Careys, and 
Blanchards. 

In 1776, Mr. Brown erected a block-house, whose loca- 
tion is now within the borough of Pittston, to which two 
stockades were added. In 1778, during the Indian battle, 
they were occupied by women and children, who w^ere 
guarded by 30 men, under the command of Captain 
Blanchard. The first saw-mill in the township was built 
on the Lackawanna, in 1780, by Solomon Finn and E. L. 
Stevens. 

In 1796, including Jenkins and parts of Lackawanna, 
Springbrook, Bear Creek, and Plains, Pittston contained 
65 taxable inhabitants,* 37 horses, 147 head of horned 
cattle, and 1 slave. 

The present area of Pittston is 36 square miles, one- 
half of which is cleared land. It is generally hilly, and 
being a mining region, agriculture is a secondary pursuit. 
Rye, corn, oats, and buckwheat are produced here, which 
are consumed at home. 

Pittston contains 3 saw-mills, 1 grist-mill, 3 stores, 1 
church, 1 foundry, 1 tannery, and a large powder-mill. 

The present population is chiefly Irish, Welsh, and 
German. 

In 1840 the population was 1110, of whom 4 were coal 
operators, and 248 were engaged in agriculture. In 1850 
the inhabitants were 4048. 

* For names of taxables, see Appendix, Q. 



214 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



PiTTSTON Borough was incorporated in 1853, and in 
the following year its boundaries were enlarged. Prior 
to 1838 it contained only 8 or 10 dwellings. 

The oldest house now standing in Pittston, is the Hart 
house, on Main street, erected by Jacob Hart and God- 
frey Perry, about the year 1790. Shortly after, William 
Slocum built a large frame-house below the old Sox 
tavern. There was an old frame building about 14 rods 
south-west of the present residence of Mr. John Sox, in 
which a store was kept, in 1799, by Messrs. Wright & 
Duane. Adjoining this stood another building, which 
was one of the first in Pittston township, and which was 
purchased and removed by Mr. William Tompkins in 
1825. 

The Stockbridge house was erected in 1830, at which 
time Mr; John Alment kept store in a frame-house oppo- 
site the Butler Hotel. Mr. Alment also, at one time, 
resided and kept the post-office in this building. 

Messrs. Butler & Mallery commenced operating in coal 
in this township in 1838, since which period the borough 
has rapidly advanced to its present high position among 
the incorporated towns of the county. It now contains 
22 dry goods, 8 clothing, 5 grocery, 1 hardware, and 3 
drug stores, 2 steam grist-mills, 7 hotels, and 8 churches. 
It is supplied with water forced from the Susquehanna 
into a reservoir, and distributed thence through the town 
in pipes. (For population in 1860, see Appendix X.) 

Plains Township was formed from portions of Wilkes- 
barre and Pittston in 1851. The Waname Indians, a 
tribe of the Delawares, once resided within the limits of 
this township, and one of their chiefs being named Jacob, 
the whites called the territory Jacob's Plains. From this 
the township derived its name. 

The original Connecticut settlers, in 1762, built their 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 215 



log-houses immediately above tjie confluence of Mill Creek 
with the Susquehanna. These buildings were afterwards 
seized by the Pennamites, w4io enclosed them with stock- 
ades, and called the enclosure Fort Ogden. 

The first grist-mill in the Wyoming Valley was erected 
on Mill Creek, within the bounds of Plains, by Nathan 
Chapman, in 1772. It was a log structure with one run 
of stone, and stood on the side of the creek opposite the 
present mill of the late Mr. John Hollenback. It was 
carried away by the high water soon after its erection. 
In 1813, on the same creek, Mr. Hezekiah Parsons put 
up the first fulling and woolen factory. The second grate 
for burning anthracite coal was set up by Henry Stark, 
in Plains township, in 1808, shortly after Judge Fell's 
successful experiment at Wilkesbarre. The first church 
here was built in 1843. 

The oldest residents in Plains township are Hon. 
Charles Miner,*Messrs. Parly Lyons, Henry Shafer, Ben- 
jamin Courtright, John Clark, and Henry Stark. 

The extent of Plains is 15 square miles, of which one- 
half is cleared. Its surface is partly hill}^ and partly flat 
or river bottom land. Its soil produces wheat, rye, corn, 
oats, and buckwheat, and its market is at Wilkesbarre 
and Pittston. It has 1 saw-mill, 3 grist-mills, 2 stores, 2 
churches, 2 taverns, 1 powder-mill, and 4 collieries. 

Plymouth Township was one of the old Connecticut 
townships, and also one of the eleven of 1790. Its name 
was derived from Plymouth, in Litchfield county, Con- 
necticut. 

In 1775, a battle was fought in Plymouth between the 
Yankees and Pennamites, near the coal-mines of Jameson 
Harvey, Esq. In 1776, a stockade was put up, for the 
defence of women and children in times of attack by the 
savages, near the site of the village of Plymouth. 

* The Hon. Charles Miner died in 1865. 



216 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



In 1780, Robert Faulk^ier erected a log grist-mill on 
Shou^D's Creek, below the site of the present Shoup Mill, 
and about the same time Hezekiah Roberts put up a 
similar mill on Ransom Creek. In the same year Benja- 
min Harvey built a log mill and dwelling-house on Har- 
vey's Creek, which were occupied by his son-in-law, 
Abraham Tillbury. 

Samuel Marvin, in 1795, erected a saw-mill on Whits- 
ley's Creek, above the present residence of Samuel Wad- 
hams, Esq. 

In 1796, this township, including Jackson, contained 
95 taxable inhabitants,* 61 horses, and 262 head of 
horned cattle. 

The area of Plymouth is 29 square miles, of which a 
portion is river bottom, and the rest hilly and mountain- 
ous land. One-third of it is cultivated, producing the 
usual grains of the country, which find a market at home. 
It has 2 saw-mills, 2 grist-mills, 9 stores, 2 churches, 3 
taverns, and 14 coal-mines. 

Plymouth village, called by the early inhabitants 
Shawaneetown, is located near the site of the Shawanee 
Indian village, where Zinzendorf, one hundred and 
eighteen years ago, preached the gospel to the red men. 
It contains 150 dwellings. There is an academy building 
in this place, and two churches, and most of the stores of 
the township are located here. 

During the French war, in 1756, Paxinos, a Shawanee 
chief, and about 30 other Indians friendly to the English, 
retired from this village to another situated on the west 
side of Ross's Hill. The remainder of the tribe engaged in 
the war on the part of the French. 

The population of the township, in 1840, including 

* For names of taxables, see Appendix, R. 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 217 



Jackson, was 1765. In that year 58 of the inhabitants 
were engaged in mining, and 159 in agriculture. In 
1850, without Jackson, the population was 1473. 

Providence Township was separated from Pittston in 
1792; but in 1820 its western portion was reannexed to 
Pittston. Its name was derived from Providence in Rhode 
Island. 

The Muncey or Monsey Indians, the Wolf tribe of the 
Delawares, had a village in this township near Scranton. 
They had a famous chief, whose name was Capouse. 
From 1770 to 1776, the principal settlers in Providence 
and Lackawanna townships were the Hardings, Careys, 
Tripps, Frazers, Hickmans, Hockseys, Keys, Nelsons, 
Philips, Johnsons, Hunts, Aliens, Dewits, Reines, Leg- 
getts, Baldwins, and Dr. Joseph Sprague. 

In 1796, including a large part of old Blakeley, and 
also Lackawanna townships. Providence contained 53 
taxables,* 22 horses, 56 oxen, and 80 cows. 

Its area is 44 square miles, whose surface is undulating, 
and underlaid with coal. It was formerly an agricultural, 
but is now a mining region, and its present inhabitants 
are chiefly Irish, Germans, and Welsh. One-third of its 
territory is cleared, and its agricultural products are con- 
sumed at home. 

Dunmore is a villagefcontaining 200 dwellings, 10 dry 
goods stores, 1 drug store, 3 churches, 2 hotels, and 1 soap 
and candle manufactory. In addition to these, there are 
in the township, out of the village, 1 store, 1 tavern, 1 
tannery, and 3 saw-mills. Dunmore, in 1840, contained 
only 4 dwellings. 

The population of Providence township, in 1840, 
including Providence borough, Hyde Park, and Scranton, 

* For names of taxables, see Appendix S. 

f Dunmore was incorporated a borough in 1862. 



218 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



was 1169, of whom 209 were engaged in agriculture, and 
none in mining. In 1850 the same territory contained 
4933 inhabitants. 

Pkovidence Borough was incorporated in 1849. It 
was formerly called Centreville, and by some persons 
Kazorville. In July, 1834, this place was visited by a 
hurricane, which overturned and destroyed its dwellings 
with terrific violence. In 1840, it contained 10 or 12 
dwellings, 1 store, and 1 tavern. It now has 7 dry goods 
stores, 1 drug store, 1 tannery, 2 axe and scythe manu- 
factories, 3 churches, 1 academy, 2 hotels, 2 flouring- 
mills, 2 saw-mills, and 1 steam iron foundry. 

Eansom Township was formed from parts of Exeter 
and Newton, in 1849, and was named in honor of Cap- 
tain Samuel Ransom, who commanded the second inde- 
pendent company of troops raised in Wyoming, in 1777, 
and who fell in the battle of July 3d, 1778. 

The Delaware Indians had a village on the Susque- 
hanna, near the mouth of Gardner's Creek, called Assa- 
rughney. 

The first grist-mill, in the territory of Ransom, was 
erected on Gardner's Creek, in 1825, by Philip Sher- 
wood. About the same time Mr. Twitchel put up the 
first saw-mill. The first church was built, in 1845, by 
the Lutherans, under the direction of the Rev. John 
Lescher. 

Ransom contains 21 square miles, one-third of which 
is cleared land, producing wheat, rye, corn, oats, and 
buckwheat, which find a market at Scranton and Pitts- 
ton. Its timber is chiefly oak, chestnut, and hickory. 

Milwaukee is a village consisting of 30 dwellings, 2 
saw-mills, 1 grist-mill, 1 store, 1 church, and 1 iron 
foundry. There are, besides these in the township, 1 
church and 1 saw-mill. 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 219 



The present population of Ransom is chiefly German 
and of German extraction, from Northampton county. 

In 1850 this township contained 797 inhabitants. 

Ross Township was formed from portions of Lehman 
and Union, in 1842, and was named in honor of General 
William S. Ross, who, at the time of its formation, was 
one of the associate judges of the Luzerne county courts. 

Its area is 46 square miles, of which one-fourth part is 
cleared land. Its surface is hilly, and its soil produces 
. the usual grains, together with excellent grass. Its mar- 
ket is at Wilkesbarre. Its timber is principally oak, 
chestnut, and pine. 

There are in the township 5 saw-mills, 1 store, 1 
church, and 1 tavern, but no grist-mill. 

The population of Ross, in 1850, was 709. 

Salem Township was one of the original townships, 
and retained its name as one of the 11 townships into 
which the county was divided in 1790. It received its 
name from Salem, in Windham county, Connecticut, and 
its territory has not been diminished since 1793, when 
Huntington was set off. 

The father of the late Nathan Beach, Esq., built the 
first dwelling, a log-cabin, in Salem, in 1776, on the 
Beach Grove property, near the river. Several years 
after he opened the first store in the township. 

Prior to the erection of Walker's Mill, the settlers had 
their grain ground at the Nanticoke Mill, to which place 
they conveyed it in canoes pushed up the Susquehanna, 

The first grist-mill was a log structure, erected by Mr. 
Walker, about the year 1788, on a small stream which 
empties into the Susquehanna, a few rods above Beach 
Haven. 

In 1793, Joseph and Alexander Jameson erected a log- 



220 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



house on the river bank, on the Jameson estate, adjoining 
Beach Grove. 

In 1796, Salem township contained 44 dweUing-houses, 
45 taxable inhabitants,* 28 horses, 19 oxen, and 77 
cows. 

The extent of Salem is 29 square miles, one-half of 
which is cleared and cultivated. The surface is river- 
bottom and rolling land, and its soil produces wheat, rye, 
corn, oats, and buckwheat, which find a market at home 
and at Hazelton. 

Beach Haven is a village containing about 30 dwellings, 
3 stores, 1 grist-mill, 1 grocery, 1 church, and 2 taverns. 
The collector's and weighmaster's offices of the Wyoming 
Canal Company are located here. Besides these, the 
township contains 5 saw-mills, 2 grist-mills, 1 store, 1 tan- 
nery, and 1 church. 

The population of Salem in 1840 was 1009, and in 
1850 it was 1130. 

Scott Township was separated from Greenfield in 1846, 
and was named in honor of David Scott, who, for many 
years, was president judge of the Luzerne courts. 

In 1800, Mr. Howe built the first grist-mill of logs on 
the outlet of Chapman's Lake, and James Brown, in 1804, 
erected the first saw-mill on the same stream. The first 
church in Scott was built in 1856. Among the early 
settlers were Nathaniel Simrell, Nathaniel Finch, William 
Carey, Wilmot Vale, Caleb Brown, and Samuel Callender. 
Lucy Carey, whose maiden name was McKay, resides in 
Scott, and is one hundred years of age.-|" She was in Forty 
Fort at the time of the Indian battle in 1778. 

The area of Scott township is 27 square miles, one- 
third of which is cleared land. Its surface is undulating, 

* For names of taxables, see Appendix T, f Since deceased. 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 221 



and it is adapted to grazing, though it produces the com- 
mon grains of the country. Its market is at Carbondale 
and Scranton. Its timber is chiefly beech, maple, hem- 
lock, and ash. 

This township has 4 saw-mills, 1 grist-mill, 1 turning- 
mill, 1 store, 1 church, and 1 tavern. 

Green Grove is a small village of about 15 dwellings. 

The population of Scott in 1850 was 1268. 

Scranton Borough was incorporated in 1856, and is 
situated in what was known as Slocum Hollow, or 
Capouse. This name was pronounced, by the old in- 
habitants, Gajpows, Capouse was a chief of the Monsey 
Indians, whose village stood near the site of Scranton. 
Here, Frederick Post, the Moravian missionary, found 
them, more than a hundred years ago.* 

In the year 1788, Philip and James Abbott put up a 
log grist-mill on Roaring Brook, a few rods above the 
present gristrmill at Scranton. It had one run of stone, 
and a bolter made of perforated deerskin. In 1798, this 
mill passed into the hands of Benjamin and Ebenezer 
Slocum, who enlarged it. The Messrs. Slocum, in 1799, 
built a saw-mill, and, in the following year, a forge in the 
some locality. These buildings, with 2 distilleries and 3 
dwellings, constituted, for many years, the entire settle- 
ment in Slocum Hollow or Capouse. 

In 1839, this region was explored by Mr. W. Henry, 
who discovered anthracite coal and iron-ore on the Slocum 
property and adjoining lands. He, in conjunction with 
Colonel George W. and S. T. Scranton, S. Grant, and P. 
H. Mattes, purchased these lands in 1840. On the 11th 
of September, of the same year, the first day's work was 
done towards the erection of a blast furnace, and the place 
was called Harrison, in honor of General William Henry 
Harrison, who was then the candidate, of the whig party 

* Scranton was incorporated a city in 1866, and includes Providence 
borough and township, and the borough of Hyde Park. 



222 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 




THE SLOCUM HOUSE. 



for President of the United States. This name was after- 
wards dropped for that of Scrantonia, which was finally 
changed to Scranton. Such was the beginning of one of 
the most flourishing towns in Pennsylvania, and which is 
destined to become a place of even far greater importance 
than it is now. 

Scranton is laid out with regularity, nearly all the 
streets crossing each other at right angles. Business is 
thriving, and many spacious brick buildings are being 
erected. The town is supplied with water from the 
Lackawanna, being forced up by steam-power into a 
reservoir, and thence distributed in pipes through the 
borough. The streets are lighted by gas, and the side- 
walks are paved with plank and stone. The capital of 
the company which erected the gas and water works is 
$100,000. The place contains 59 groceries and stores of all 
descriptions, 18 stationary steam-engines, 10 churches, 2 
printing offices, 4 foundries and machine-shops, 2 bakeries, 
7 hotels, 4 smelting furnaces, 1 rolling-mill, 1 planing 



BOROUGHS AND TOTTNSHIPS. 223 



mill, 2 banking-houses, 6 insurance agencies, 2 flouring- 
mills, each with 4 run of stone, 1 brewery, 2 resident 
dentists, 12 doctors, and 13 lawyers. 

In 1850, there was but one brick building in Scranton, 
now there are 80. In 1854, the population was 4241, of 
whom the American-born were 1151, the rest being Ger- 
mans, Irish, Welsh, and English. The population is now 
estimated to exceed 12,000, of whom about one-half, it is 
thought, are native-born Americans. 

Slocum Township was separated from Newport in 1854, 
and was named in honor of Joseph Slocum, Esq., late of 
Wilkesbarre. The first settlement in Slocum was made 
by two brothers, named Lutsey, about the year 1785, at 
what is known as the Lutsey settlement. They were 
great hunters, and the mountains abounding in game, 
their location was peculiarly suited to their love of 
adventure. 

Its area is 16 square miles, one-fifth of which is cleared 
land. It is a mountainous section of country ; but rye, 
corn, oats, and buckwheat do well. The timber is mainly 
oak and hemlock. 

This township contains 2 saw-mills, and 2 stores, but 
has no grist-mill, no church, and no tavern. 

Springbrook Township was formed from parts of Cov- 
ington and PittstOn in 1853. 

Among the first settlers in Springbrook was Abraham 
Turner, who, assisted by others, cut a road from Dale- 
ville to Rattlesnake Creek. He and his companions com- 
menced what is known as the Welsh settlement in 1832. 
Mr. Turner was soon followed by James Jones, David 
Davidson, Morgan Daniel, Morgan Pugh, Isaac Cary, 
William Thomas, and others, who, by industry and fru- 
gality, have converted the wilderness into the fruitful 
field, and have laid up a store for a joyous old age. 



224 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



The first saw-mill in Springbrook was put up on Rattle- 
snake Creek, in 1836, by Henry Yeager. The first grist- 
mill was erected, on the same creek, by William Hughes, 
in 1838. In 1839, the first church was built by the 
Welsh Methodists. 

The extent of Springbrook is 35 square miles, of which 
only about one-sixth is cleared land. It is a mountainous 
region, and is adapted to grazing ; but produces rye, corn, 
oats, and buckwheat. Its market is Pittston and the 
Lackawanna Valley. Its timber is chiefly oak, beech, 
and hemlock. 

This township contains 5 saw-mills, 1 grist-mill, 1 
church, and 1 shovel and hoe-handle manufactory. 

SuGAELOAF TowNSHiP was formed from a portion of 
Nescopeck in 1809, and received its name from the Sugar- 
loaf Mountain, which rears its conical peak 500 feet above 
the valley of the same name. 

In the year 1785, the year after John Balliet settled 
in the territory embraced in Butler township, George 
Easterday built a log-cabin near the Indian path, at the 
foot of Buck Mountain, now in Sugarloaf. Mr. Easterday 
was followed by Christian Miller, Anthony Weaver, Jacob 
Mace, Jacob Rittenhouse, Jacob Drumheller, Sr., Jacob 
Spade, Christian Wenner, and others from Northampton 
county. These, with the early settlers of Butler and 
Black Creek, were the pioneers of South-western Luzerne. 

John Cawley erected the first saw-mill on the Nesco- 
peck Creek in 1810, and the first grist-mill was built by 
George Koening in 1825. The first church was put up 
in Conyngham in 1815. 

The area of Sugarloaf is 20 square miles, of which 
seven-tenths is cleared land, embracing a considerable 
portion of Sugarloaf Valley. The common grains of our 
climate are produced in Sugarloaf, and their market is at 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 225 



Hazelton. Oak, chestnut, hemlock, and hickory are found 
in its forests. It contains 8 saw-mills, 3 grist-mills, 4 
stores, 2 churches, and 5 taverns. 

Conyngham village, in this township, was named in 
honor of Captain Gustavus Conyngham, who commanded 
a privateer during the Revolutionary War, and who first 
carried the American flag into the English Channel. It 
contains about 50 dwellings, 2 stores, 3 taverns, and 1 
church. 

The population of Sugarloaf in 1850 was 1023. 

Union Township was formed from parts of Huntington 
and Plymouth in 1813. 

The first settlement in Union was made in 1773, by 
Jonathan Hunlock, on Hunlock's Creek, near the furnace 
of William Koons. 

Isaac Benscotter erected the first saw-mill on the 
Shickshinny Creek in 1802, and the first grist-mill was 
put up by George Gregory on the same stream in 1804. 
The first church was built in 1832. Among the first set- 
tlers were the Benscotters, Fenks, Dodsons, and Youngs. 

The extent of Union is 39 square miles, of which a 
fifth part is cleared and cultivated. Though a mountain- 
ous region, the cultivable portions yield the usual grains, 
which find a market at Hazelton and Wilkesbarre. Its 
timber is chiefly oak, chestnut, and hickory. It contains 
8 saw-mills, 3 grist-mills, 4 stores, 3 taverns, 2 churches, 
and 2 blast furnaces, including the one at Shickshinny, 
which stands within the Salem township line. 

Shickshinny village* is situated at the point where the 
Shickshinny Creek empties into the Susquehanna. It 
contains about 20 dwellings, and bids fair to become a 
thriving place. It is connected with Newport by a sub- 
stantial bridge across the Susquehanna, and enjoys the 

* Shickshinny was incorporated a borough in 1861. 



226 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



advantages of the canal and of the Lackawanna and 
Bloomsburg Railroad. 

Muhlenburg is a collection of 6 or 8 dwellings. 

The population of Union in 1850 was 1308. 

Waverlt Borough was incorporated in 1854, prior to 
which it was generally called Abington Centre. It is 
located in the midst of a fine agricultural district, one 
mile distant from the Delaware, Lackawanna, and West- 
ern Railroad. It contains 5 stores, 1 large hotel, 1 steam 
saw and grist mill, and 3 churches. The public schools 
of Waverly are graded. The buildings are frame and 
neatly built, and the streets are provided with good side- 
walks. Its population is about 400. 

West Pittston Borough was incorporated in 1857, and 
is situated on the Susquehanna, opposite Pittston, with 
which it is connected by a substantial bridge. It is 
regularly laid out, and the location is a most desirable 
one for private residences, particularly for persons engaged 
in business in Pittston. There are 1 large hotel and 1 
store in the place. 

White Haven Borough was incorporated in 1842, and 
derives its name from Josiah White, Esq., of Philadelphia, 
to whose genius and energy the origin and completion of 
the Lehigh navigation is chiefly attributable. The town is 
pleasantly located on the Lehigh river and canal, 20 miles 
south-east from Wilkesbarre, with which it is connected by 
the Susquehanna and Lehigh Railroad. White Haven is 
steadily improving, and the proposed enlargement of the 
locks on the Lehigh, so as to admit the passage of steam- 
boats of 250 tons burden, and a corresponding enlargement 
of the Delaware Canal, will divert, it is thought, almost 
the entire Wyoming coal trade in that direction, and will 
give the town an impetus, which will speedily advance it 
to the position of one of the most active and progressive 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 227 



places in the state.* It contains 250 dwellings, 3 churches, 
5 dry goods stores, 2 drug stores, 4 hotels, 6 saw-mills, 3 
planing and lath mills, and 1 foundry and machine-shop. 
The town is supplied with pure mountain spring water, 
and excellent and commodious hotels, which, combined 
with its high elevation and pure air, render it a desirable 
place of resort during the sultry months of the year. 

WiLKESBARRE TowNSHiP was originally laid out by the 
Susquehanna Land Company, and was also one of the 
eleven townships into which Luzerne was divided by the 
court in 1790. It derives its name from the union of the 
names of John Wilkes and Colonel Barre, distinguished 
advocates for liberty and the rights of the colonies. 

The first dwelling-houses in Wyoming, erected by white . 
men, were built on the flats, below the borough of Wilkes- 
barre, in 1758, by authority of the Supreme Executive 
Council of Pennsylvania, for the use of Teedyuscung, king 
of the Delaware Indians, and his tribe. 

Fort Durkee stood on the bank of the river in this town- 
ship, immediately below the Wilkesbarre borough hne. 

The first massacre and destruction of the white settle- 
ment occurred in this township in 1763. 

In 1782, James Sutton, who had previously built mills 
in Exeter and Kingston townships, erected a grist-mill on 
Mill Creek near the river. This was the first mill in the 
present limits of Wilkesbarre. It was constructed of 
hewn logs, and had one run of stone, and a sentry-box on 
the roof, from which the valley could be overlooked, and 
the movements of an enemy observed. This mill was 
swept away by the pumpkin flood in 1786. 

In 1799, including Wilkesbarre borough, Covington, 
Buck, and a large portion of Plains and Bear Creek town- 

* The Lehigh Slaekwater Navigation was destroyed by the great flood of 
1862, and has not been rebuilt. (For particulars, see Appendix Y.) 



228 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 




Sutton's mill. 



ships, it contains 121 taxable inhabitants,* 112 horses, 
and 301 head of horned cattle. The total valuation of 
property for taxable purposes was $71,390. 

The area of this township is 15 square miles, and three- 
fourths of it is cleared land. The surface is flat and 
rolling, with a portion of the Wilkesbarre Mountain in 
its territory. It produces wheat, rye, corn, and oats, 
which are consumed at home. It contains 10 stores, 5 
grist-mills, 2 iron foundries, 2 planing-mills, 4 churches, 
1 soap and tallow chandlery, 1 powder-mill, 1 brewery, 
and 6 coal-mines. 

The population of Wilkesbarre township, including 
parts of Plains and Bear Creek, in 1850, was 2928. 

Wilkesbarre Borough was incorporated in 1806, and 
is the oldest town in the county. It was laid out in 
1772 by Colonel John Durkee, and embraced 200 acres 
of land. It was originally laid out in eight squares, with 
a diamond in the centre. The squares were subsequently 



* For names of taxables, see Appendix, U. 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 



229 



divided into 16 parallelograms by the formation of Frank- 
lin and Washington streets. 

The first dwelling, within the limits of the town plot, 
was a log-cabin built by John Abbott on the south-west 
corner of Main and Northampton streets, in 1769. 

In 1772, there were only 5 white women in Wilkes- 
barre; and, in 1784, the whole number of buildings 
amounted to 26, of which 23 were burnt by the Penna- 
mites. Of the three buildings saved from the flames, two 
are yet standing — the westerly end of the Hollenback 
House, on Main street, and the old red house on River 
street. The former was erected by Judge Hollenback, 
and the latter by Captain John P. Schott, in 1783. 




RED HOUSE. 



In 1807, Joseph Slocum, Esq., erected a three story 
brick dwelling-house on the south side of the Public Square, 
now occupied by his son-in-law. Lord Butler, Esq. In 
the same year, Benjamin Perry, Esq., put up the brick 
dwelling now standing on the corner of Main and North- 



230 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



ampton streets. These two were the first brick buildings 
in Wilkesbarre. 

The following taken from the Federalist of March 30, 
1810, will give some idea of Wilkesbarre 50 years ago : — 
" Memorandum of a Stranger in Luzerne. 

" Cloudy day — rain towards night — 4 o'clock, came in 
sight of a small town in this county — a delightful and 
extensive valley, sufficiently watered by Susquehanna and 
its tributary streams. Set this county down rich — the 
soil undoubtedly will reward the labors of the husband- 
man with an abundant harvest. 

"Came down into the town (Wilkesbarre) — found it 
regularly laid out — handsome place, though too many 
small houses for beauty. Streets terribly muddy — almost 
impossible to get along. Wonder the inhabitants don't 
have a side-walk, at least, so that foot people may not 
have their legs pulled out by the roots. Mem. — Stone 
enough on the mountain at a small distance. Query — 
Would not a good pavement raise the value of property 
sufficiently to defray the expense ? 

" Came down into the street — extends north and south. 
What ! two men running horses ! ! Mud knee deep — 
Well, they sputter it agoing bravely. They spout it around 
like Mount Etna in a fit of the colic. Huzza ! there 
goes a man and his horse heels over head — spatter, dash, 
souse all over in the mud — ha ! ha ! ha ! — a new way of 
dismounting. Mem. — Never run horses in slippery 
weather. Walked up to the centre of the place — saw a 
meeting-house — good sign, though seldom seen in this 
county — court-house — an academy, I guess, with one 
end of it fenced in — a jail probably, by the high yard 
fence — four public buildings, religion, justice, knowledge, 
and iniquity — curious compound. Wonder what old 
huge, antique stone-building that is with new roof and 



BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 231 



windows — contrary to Scripture — put no new cloth upon 
an old garment. Query^ — Is this not what they call the 
Gothic order of architecture ? Mem. — Never build in that 
style — looks like the devil — this is the first building that 
bears such strong marks of antiquity, and which appears 
to have been too rough for the devouring jaws of time, 
which I have seen in America. I can find no date upon 
it — conjecture, built about the time of the second Olym- 
piad. Went a little further — found six great, strong 
robust men playing cards without any concealment. 
Inquired if they had any laws in this state, or, perhaps, 
their magistrates are blind, like Justice of old. Went 
down to the river — a delightful bank, save the mud, 
which, for' the purpose of brevity, I wish might always 
be excepted, when this place is mentioned hereafter. A 
big house on the bank — foundation all gone from one end 
— a little more will tumble it down the hill — a good simile 
for the government of the U. S. A. Saw a man drunk — 
he had business on both sides of the way. Mem. — There 
was once an insurrection in this state on account of taxing 
whiskey. Saw another man moving with great obliquity 
— made inquiry — found he was a candidate for sheriff. 
Query — Do all sheriffs in Pennsylvania step quick two or 
three times, and then with a long side-way stride ? The 
river is wearing away the bank very rapidly — from ap- 
pearance it seems to incline side-ways, like the man I saw 
just now. 

" Two men rode up from the river — one horse kicked 
up and threw the rider head and heels in the mud — the 
people all flocked around just as they do to see dogs fight 
— made inquiry, and found the man was a Methodist 
minister. Well, if I remember right, this sect of Christ- 
ians hold to falling. Mem. — It may do well in theory, 
but it is hard enough in practice. 



232 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



" I went down a little further — saw a tavern with the 
sign of the' vessel. Mem. — Look in the morning, and see 
if this be a seaport town. Heard a bell ring — made 
inquiry, and found there was a Methodist meeting. After 
tea went, and found a great many people there. The 
minister delivered a forcible, impressive, eloquent, and 
scriptural sermon. Under such preaching there must be 
many Christians. Retired to my lodgings very weary. 

" N. B. Get up early in the morning and buy cloth for 
a coat. 

" March 21. Rose at 6 — walked out upon the bank — 
saw only one man up, and he, from his looks, will be 
down before night. At 7, went to the store opposite the 
ferry — found all closed and silent — perhaps this may be 
holy time with them — inquired if they be Jews, and this 
be the Passover. Walked on — saw a new white house 
—very handsome situation — fence all gone around it. 
Query — Has it not been a hard winter here? What! 
the printing office — 0, yes — where that important agri- 
cultural information came from — information so complete 
that it had only one fault, and that the trifling one of 
having no application on this side of the Atlantic. Saw 
another store — went on, found it open and doing business 
— good many people in — inquire if this man does not tend 
his own store, and, of course, make more money. Going 
back, saw a man without a hat — his hair pointing to 
every quarter of heaven — his mouth open, and both 
hands working daylight through his yet closed eyelids — 
hope he has a large patrimony to doze over. Returned 
to the tavern — found a good many men come in to get 
their morning charge. Query — Arn't these men ashamed 
to let their wives and families know how much they 
drink? After breakfast walked round town — at 11 
o'clock went by the Academy — steeple as big as an eel- 



3 72 



-5 a 



^ :: 



3 ? 



3 ^ CR 



■ J5 = 3 



M £; 




BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS. 233 



basket — saw a number of great tall boys gaping, and 
leaning against the side of the house, and stretching as if 
for victory. Query — Are they preparing to stretch hemp 
without anything to stand on ? Heard a man talk very 
loud within — 

" ' With what a braying noise he muttered, 
And thought, no doubt, hell trembled as he uttered.' 

" Went on — saw things which I shall never forget — 
returned to my lodgings sick — evening pleasant — many 
people came in, and as they poured down the whiskey 
they drowned out the politics. Query — If they should 
drink less, talk less, and read more, won't they under- 
stand the subject better ? Went up street — going by the 
court-house heard a stamping, like that of a livery stable 
in fly time — made inquiry, and found there was a danc- 
ing-school kept there. Mem. — 

" ' He that will not work, by right, should not eat. 
And he that has no head may use his feet.' 

"March 22. In the morning — Over! over! halloo, 
ferryman ! 

" P. S. I shall return this way." 

The Allen Jack brick store-house, on Main street, was 
erected in 1813, and the G. M. Hollenback store and dwell- 
ing, on the corner of Market and River streets, in 1816. 

Wilkesbarre contains 22 dry goods and grocery, and 11 
exclusively grocery stores; 12 clothing, 10 boot and shoe, 
and 7 drug stores ; 2 exclusively liquor, 1 hat and cap, 
2 leather, 3 book and stationery, and 6 millinery and 
fancy stores ; 5 watch and jewellery, 3 saddle and harness, 
5 tin and stove establishments ; 7 bakeries and confec- 
tioneries, 2 extensive iron founderies, 1 sash factory, 3 
breweries, 4 tobacconists ; 3 hardware, 2 crockery and 
glassware stores ; 2 planing and saw mills, and 1 flour- 
ing-mill; 3 banks, 2 insurance offices, 3 broker offices, 



234 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



5 restaurants, 11 hotels and taverns, 1 female seminary ; 
1 Presbyterian, 1 Methodist Episcopal, 1 Protestant Epis- 
copal, 1 Baptist, 2 Roman Catholic, 1 German Reformed? 
and 1 colored Methodist Episcopal church. 

The Methodist Episcopal church in Woodville, and the 
Lutheran church in the township, are located near the 
borough line, and are supported in part by members resi- 
dent in Wilkesbarre. 

The side-walks of the town are well paved with flag- 
stones. The streets are lighted with gas, and the place 
is supplied with excellent water. 

The Gas and Water Works cost each about $30,000. 

The population of Wilkesbarre in 1820 was 732. In 
1830 it was 1201 ; in 1840, 1718 ; and in 1850, 2723.* 

Wright Township was formed from Hanover in 1851, 
and was named in honor of Col. Hendrick B. Wright, of 
Wilkesbarre. The first settlement was made by Conrad 
Wickeiser, in 1798, near where the tavern-stand of James 
Wright was subsequently erected. He was soon followed 
by Wright, who built the first saw-mill in the township, 
on the Wapwallopen Creek, in 1820. 

The area of the township is 34 square miles, of which 
an eighth part only is cleared land. The country is moun- 
tainous, and the timber is chiefly pine and hemlock. 
There are 8 saw-mills in Wright, 5 of which are first 
class, costing from $5000 to $10,000 each. Lumbering is 
the principal employment of the inhabitants. There are 
4 taveri;is here, but no church and no grist-mill. 

* For population in 1860, see Appendix X. 



CHAPTER VI I. 
THE JUDICIARY. 

Each state must have its policies : 
Kingdoms have edicts, cities have their charters ; 
Even the wild outlaw in his forest walk, 
Keeps yet some touch of civil discipline. 

From* the first settlement at Wyoming until 1773, the 
inhabitants had no authoritative code of laws, or tribunal 
of justice. The settlers were from the first viewed by 
the authorities of Pennsylvania as an intruding mob, 
claiming and in possession of lands to which they had no 
title. The proprietary government steadily issued its 
warrants against them, and sent her civil officers, sup- 
ported by bodies of armed men, to arrest them, or drive 
them away. The settlers did not acknowledge the laws 
of Pennsylvania, and were not themselves recognised by 
the laws of Connecticut ; consequently they were without 
law, and every man, in defending his person and property, 
trusted to his rifle and to the justice of his cause. To 
remedy this state of affairs, the Susquehanna Land Com- 
pany framed a code of laws, or articles of agreement, in 
1773, to which every male inhabitant of the age of twenty- 
one years and upwards, was required to subscribe his name, 
or depart from the settlement. 

This compact provided, — 

1st. For the election of three committeemen or directors 
in each township, who should meet at least once in each 

(235) 



236 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



month, to hear and decide all disputes, and to try petty 
offences. 

2d. The directors of the several townships were required 
to meet together four times a year at Wilkesbarre, consti- 
tuting the quarterly meeting for general business purposes, 
and for hearing and deciding appeals from the decisions of 
the township directors, except in cases where titles to 
land were in question, when the appeal was to be car- 
ried to the Susquehanna Company. 

Breaches of the peace, stealing, drunkenness, swearing, 
gaming, idleness and the like, came under the jurisdiction 
of the township directors; but adulterers, burglars, and 
some other offenders were tried by the quarterly meeting, 
or supreme court. 

For stealing, drunkenness, idleness, &c., the guilty were 
required to make public confession, and perhaps imdergo 
punishment at the whipping-post, or in the stocks. 

Adultery and burglary were punished by whipping, 
banishment from the settlement, and confiscation of all 
personal and real estate. 

Counterfeiters were sent for trial to the province or 
jurisdiction whose coin or money had been counterfeited, 
and murderers were conveyed to Connecticut for trial. 

There were then no regularly admitted practicing law- 
yers,— 

"Men of great profession that could speak 
To every cause, and things mere contraries, 
Till they were hoarse again, yet all be law." 

In those days there was a period in the history of a 
lawsuit, a stopping-place, a conclusion. The time had 
not yet arrived when he who was so unfortunate as to 
fall into the clutches of the law, must contend 

"with rejoinders, or replies. 



Long bills and answers stuflfed with lies ;" 



THE JUDICIARY. 237 



and when the vigor of life and his substance were spent 
in the strife, would be compelled to say — 

"For twenty yeai-s the cause was spun 
And then stood where it first begun." 

In 1774 the Susquehanna Purchase, embracing what 
are now the counties of Luzerne, Wyoming, Susquehanna, 
and Bradford, was formed into one town, after the man- 
ner of New England, and called Westmoreland. It was 
attached to the county of Litchfield, and enjoyed all the 
rights and privileges of a town under the laws of Con- 
necticut. Having a sufficient population, it was entitled 
to two representatives in the General Assembly. Zebulon 
Butler and Nathan Denison were commissioned justices 
of the peace by Governor Trumbull, with power to call 
and preside at town-meetings, and to hear and decide 
certain causes; but high oifences and important civil 
cases were to be tried before the Litchfield county courts. 

In 1776 Messrs. Butler and Denison, who had been 
chosen to represent Westmoreland in the state Assembly, 
returned from Hartford, bringing the joyful intelligence 
that the town had been promoted to the position and 
dignity of a county. A dispute now arose between 
Wilkesbarre and Kingston, relative to the seat of justice, 
but the decision being finally made in favor of the former 
place, the first court was held in Fort Wyoming, on the 
river bank, about sixty rods below the present Wilkes- 
barre bridge. Among the names of the judges appointed 
and commissioned for Westmoreland, by the Governor of 
Connecticut, from year to year, we find those of Avery, 
Beach, Butler, Dana, Denison, Gore, and Franklin. 
Lieutenant John Jenkins was appointed the state's attor- 
ney, but Anderson Dana and Amos Bullock were the 
only professional lawyers, of whom we have any record, 
prior to the Indian battle in 1778. In that battle Dana, 



238 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Bullock, and several persons who had acted as judges, 
were slain. 

From 1779 to 1782, when the Trenton Decree put an 
end to the jurisdiction of Connecticut, the courts were 
held in Wilkesbarre Fort, erected, after the massacre, on 
the site of the old court-house in the public square. 

In March, 1781, the court made the following regula- 
tion : — 

" Whereas, there is no authority in this county for the 
assistance of those who are unable to make proper repre- 
sentations of their own case before the court ; therefore. 
Resolved, That until farther or otherwise ordered, either 
plaintiff or defendant may be allowed liberty of counsel 
to lay their matters, and plead them, before the court, 
without having admitted or sworn attorneys." 

At November Court, 1781, "Ordered, that a tax of 
two pence in the pound be levied, to be paid in hard 
money, or in specific articles," grain, &c., to be delivered 
and received at the county treasury at rates fixed by 
the court. 

At the same term the court ordered that Abigail Had- 
den be divorced from Simeon Hadden, and the said 
Abigail was declared " single and unmarried." 

At the December Term,, 1782, " Mary Pritchard is 
found guilty of unnecessarily going from her place of 
abode, on the Lord's Day, on the 10th of November last ; 
therefore. Ordered, that she pay a fine of five shillings, 
lawful money, to the town treasury, and costs." 

At the same term J. H. T. having been found guilty 
of stealing, the court ordered that he " receive ten stripes, 
well administered, on his naked back." 

In 1782 D. G. W., for stealing a deerskin, valued at 
nineteen shillings, and not being able to pay damages or 
costs, was assigned by the court to two years' service to 



THE JUDICIARY. 239 



H. M., from whom he stole the skin, and power was given 
to H. M. to assign or dispose of his service for said period 
"to any of the subjects of the United States." 

The punishment of Mary Pritchard has a deep tinge 
of Connecticut's Bhie Laws. The enforcement of the 
observance of the Sabbath, to such a point of nicety, 
appears ridiculous to us ; but, it is possible, a future 
generation may entertain very different views on this 
subject with those prevalent in our day. The increased 
humanity and civilization of later times have abolished 
the whipping-post, and those barbarous punishments 
which permanently marked and mutilated the bodies of 
persons convicted of crimes. Experience has shown that 
a criminal code, inordinately severe, defeats the ends of 
justice, for a natural sympathy arises in the breasts of 
jurors for one who may suffer a punishment out of pro- 
portion to the offence committed. One of the objects of 
punishment is the determent of others from the commis- 
sion of crime : but as the perpetration of offences against 
the good order of society is the result mostly of a strong 
evil impulse in the offenders, laws should be framed 
rather with reference to their moral reformation than to 
the infliction of physical pain. 

Although Westmoreland was nominally in the county 
of Northumberland after 1772, yet the laws of Pennsyl- 
vania were utterly disregarded by the people until 1782, 
when the judgment of the United States Commissioners 
abolished the jurisdiction of Connecticut. During the 
next four years following the Trenton Decree, the seat 
of justice, for what had been known as Westmoreland, 
was properly Sunbury, situated about sixty miles further • 
down the river. The formation and organization of 
Luzerne county, in 1786-7, may be viewed as the act of 
the practical mind of Benjamin Franklin, who foresaw, 



240 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



in that plan, the effectual means for thwartmg the de- 
signs of John Franklin, Ethan Allen, and others, an 
account of which we have given elsewhere. 

On the 27th day of May, 1787, Timothy Pickering, 
James Nesbitt, Obadiah Gore, Nathan Kingsley, Benja- 
min Carpenter, Matthias Hollenback, and William Hooker 
Smith, who had been commissioned justices of the Court 
of Common Pleas, &c., as provided in the first constitution 
of this state, assembled at the house of Colonel Zebulon 
Butler, on the corner of Northampton and River streets, 
in Wilkesbarre, and proclamation being made by Lord 
Butler, high sheriff, for all persons to keep silence, the 
commissions of the county officers were read, and the 
oaths of office were administered by Timothy Pickering 
and Colonel Nathan Denison. This was the first court 
held for Luzerne county. The duties of prothonotary, 
register, and recorder, and clerk of the court, were per- 
formed by Timothy Pickering, who was a lawyer of fine 
abilities, and was otherwise eminently qualified to organize 
a new county in the midst of an injured and rebellious 
people. 

Soon after the organization of the court, Roswell Wells, 
Ebenezer Bowman, Putnam Catlin, and William Nichols, 
Esqs., were admitted and sworn as attorneys at law. In 
1794 the first two mentioned were the only lawyers in 
Luzerne county, and when, in the same year, Noah Wad- 
hams and Nathan Palmer, Esqs., were admitted to the 
bar, it was stated to the court that Messrs. Bowman and 
Catlin had then arranged to quit practice altogether. 
Daniel Stroud and John Price were admitted in 1795; 
Thomas Cooper in 1796; M. J. Biddle and Samuel 
Roberts in 1797; E. Smith, J. Wallace, and William 
Prentice in 1799 ; George Griffin in 1800, who subse- 
quently removed to the city of New York, and, becoming 



THE JUDICIARY. 241 



eminent in his profession, received the title of LL. D. In 
1802 Thomas Dyer, yet living, was admitted, and is the 
oldest survivor of the bar in the county * Colonel Wash- 
ington Lee, who is the next oldest survivor, was admitted 
in 1806. 

Among the practitioners at the Luzerne bar, the fol- 
lowing gentlemen have been promoted to judgeships in 
Pennsylvania : Thomas Cooper, LL. D. ; Garrick Mallery, 
LL. D. ; ' David Scott ; Joel Jones ; Luther Kidder ; Oris- 
tus Collins ; John N. Conyngham ; George W. Woodward, 
LL. D., of the Supreme Court ; Warren J. Woodward, and 
David Wilmot. Three gentlemen, first admitted to this 
bar, have been promoted to judgeships -in other states : Ben- 

jamin D.Wright, Florida ; E. 0. Hamlin, Minnesota ; 

Parker, Wisconsin ; and Ovid F. Johnson, a lawyer of excel- 
lent talents, became Attorney-General of Pennsylvania. 

The second court was held in September, 1787, Oba- 
diah Gore, president, at which the following-named 
persons appeared as grand jurors : Abel Pierce, foreman. 
Mason F. Alden, Jonah Rogers, John Hollenback, Shubal 
Bidlack, William Trucks, Daniel Gore, Christopher 
Hurlbut, Henry McCormick, Zachariah Hartsuff, Jacob 
Fritley, Adam Mann, William Jackson, Thomas Reed, 
William Hebbard, George Cooper, Elnathan Cary, James 
Lassley, Timothy Hopkins, John Kennedy, Andrew 
Wartman, and William Warner. The first indictment 
presented was against John Franklin, for assault and bat- 
tery on Eliphalet Richards, and the grand jury found a 
true bill. The trial was postponed until the December 
Term ; but scarcely had the September Term closed, when 
Franklin was arrested by virtue of a warrant issued by 
Chief Justice McKean, for high treason, and lodged in 
prison in Philadelphia. This act, the particulars of which 

* Thomas Dyer died in 1861. 
16 



242 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



we have given elsewhere, set the people in an uproar, 
and "no venires issued for December Term," say the 
records, " by reason of the peculiar state of the county." 

At the March Term, 1788, Putnam Catlin, acting as 
state's attorney, first displayed his legal abilities in that 

capacity against T R , indicted for stealing 

chickens. Several cases of assault and battery were tried 
at this and the following Terms. In November, 1788, 
the Supreme Court convened at Wilkesbarre for the trial 
of Franklin, and his half-share boys. Judges McKean 
and Rush were met on the Wilkesbarre Mountain, and 
escorted to comfortable quarters. As stated in a former 
chapter, Franklin's trial was postponed, and being released 
on bail, no further proceedings were ever instituted against 
him. 

In 1790, after the division of the county into town- 
ships without regard to the townships formed under the 
Connecticut law, Luzerne was further divided into ten 
districts for the election of justices of the peace. 

1st District was composed of Huntington, Salem, and 
Nescopeck townships, having 215 taxables, who elected 
Nathan Beach, Charles E. Gaylord, Jacob Bittenbender, 
and John T. Miller, as their first justices of the peace. 

2d District, composed of Wilkesbarre, Hanover, and 
Newport townships, with 290 taxables, elected William 
Ross, Joseph Wright, James Campbell, and George Espy, 
the first justices. 

3d District, composed of Plymouth, Kingston, and Exe- 
ter townships, taxables 442, elected Noah Wadhams, Jr., 
Peter Grubb, Lawrence Myers, Benjamin Carpenter, and 
Benjamin Newbury, the first justices. 

4th District, with 282 taxables, embraced Pittston and 
Providence townships ; but the names of the first justices 
of the peace are not recorded. 



THE JUDICIARY. 24:1 



5th District was Tunkhannock township, whose 140 
taxables elected Elisha Harding justice of the peace. 

6th District was formed from Braintrim and Wyalu- 
sing, having 225 taxables, who elected as their justices 
H. D. Champion, Jonathan Stevens, and Guy Wells. 

7th District, composed of "Wysox and Burlington, 
having 274 taxables, elected Moses Coolbaugh justice of 
the peace. 

8th District, embracing Ulster, Tioga, and Orwell 
townships, with 294 taxables, elected Joseph Kinney and 
David Paine, first justices. 

9th District was Rush township, whose 103 taxables 
elected Isaac Hancock their first justice of the peace. 

10th District, composed of Willingborough, Lanesville, 
and Nicholson townships, with 286 taxables, elected as 
its first justices John Marcy, Thomas Tiffany, and Asa 
Eddy. ■ 

In 1791, Zebulon Marcy was indicted by the grand 
jury of Luzerne county for challenging A. Atherton to 
fight a duel. 

The Act of Assembly forming Luzerne county, named 
Zebulon Butler, Jonah Rogers, Simon Spaulding, Na- 
thaniel Landon, and John Philips, as trustees to locate 
and to erect a court-house and jail. This they did, on 
the site of the old fort in the public square in Wilkes- 
barre. This building was about 25 by 50 feet, constructed 
of hewn logs, two stories high, with outside steps leading 
to the court room on the second floor. The first story 
was used as a jail and the jailor's residence. This primi- 
tive temple of justice was completed in 1791, and Stephen 
Tuttle, whose good wife placed her cake and beer sign 
over the door of the first story, was appointed first jailor. 

On one occasion, during the sitting of the Supreme 
Court, an unusual noise disturbed his Honor, Judge 



244 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 




OLD COURT-HOrSE, WILKESBARRE. 



McKean, who, in a stern voice, commanded silence. The 
noise, however, continued, when the court sent for Mr. 
Tuttle, who, evidently much incensed, informed his honor 

that the d d hogs had got at his corn in the garret by 

coming up the outside steps in the morning. Mr. Tuttle 
was ordered to eject the intruders forthwith. There 
proved to be but one hog, which rushed forth with a 
tremendous grunt, capsizing Mr. Tuttle, together with the 
gravity of the court. After a few years, it was resolved 
to erect a new building for the courts. 

In 1801, Lawrence Myers, Eleazar Blackman, and 
Thomas Wright, county commissioners, procured the 



THE JUDICIARY. 245 



plan of a court-house, in Fredericksburg, Maryland, for 
which they paid $17.06. The old log court-house was 
removed by Joseph Hitchcock, the contractor for the con- 
struction of the new edifice, but it continued to be occupied 
by the courts until 1804, when the new building was com- 
pleted, and the old one was converted into the Wilkes- 
barre Academy. This new structure, in the form of a 
cross, declared by the commissioners to be "most elegant 
and convenient," was erected on the site of the old log 
court-house. Including furniture and fixtures, it cost 
$9356.06, There were 32J gallons of whiskey used at 
the raising of this building; a fact which demonstrates 
either the great capacity of the people of that day for 
ardent spirits, or else the presence of a large number of 
consumers. 

The bell, the tones of which have quickened the pulsa- 
tions of the hearts of so many prisoners, of plaintiffs, and 
of defendants, was cast in Philadelphia, by George Hed- 
derly, in 1805. In the cellar of this building, at an early 
period, thQ lovers of beefsteak found a good market. 
Within its walls dancing was taught by exquisite j)ro- 
fessors of the art, and holy men of God proclaimed the 
doctrines of divine truth. For more than half a century 
it was used for judicial purposes. Judge Conyngham in 
his address, in 1856, delivered on the occasion of the 
laying of the corner stone of the present, the third, courtr 
house, remarked, " Upwards of fifty years seems a long 
period for litigation and dispute among an active and a 
growing people; yet, it is believed, that the scales of 
Justice have been balanced as evenly within these walls 
as human knowledge and human frailty would allow." 

The judges of the Supreme Court, who sat in this 
court-house and in the original log-building, were McKean, 
Tilghman, Breckenridge, Smith, and Yeates. " There 



246 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



were some ceremonies," says Judge Conyngham, in the 
address before quoted, " connected with the courts, now 
entirely abrogated, and which in fact would be annoying 
in the present day, which are worthy of being noted in 
the records of the past. At the opening of every term, 
the sheriff, with his staff of office, attended by the crier 
of the court, and frequently by several constables, waited 
upon the judges at their lodgings, and then conducted 
them in formal procession to the court-house. Judges 
McKean, Smith, and others, of the Supreme Court, always 
wore swords when they attended court — some bearing 
rapiers and others heavier weapons." 

" In this secluded spot, the weeks of court, years since, 
attracted more of interest in the inhabitants than is found 
at present. They were decidedly, as tradition remem- 
bers and brings down to us, gala days, and periods of fun 
and frolic. The lawyers were assembled from various 
parts of the state, and, while business was not so burden- 
some and pressing as it is now, much time was afforded 
for amusements. It was but a day or two since, in con- 
versation with a lady of our town, about these bygone 
days, that she seemed to be young again in the liveliness 
and vivacity of her recollections, as she described the 
public and private gatherings, and especially the court 
ball, which was held every term in the upper room of the 
court-house." 

Mr. Brown says of Judge McKean, " He was rigid in 
the observance of the court ceremonies, jealous of his 
authority, and rough and overbearing in maintaining it." 

Judge Breckenridge does not appear to have been so 
dignified as some others. In warm weather he sat in 
court clad in a loose gown, and in his bare feet, which he 
sometimes elevated on the railing over the head of the 
clerk. 



THE JUDICIARY. 247 



Some of the early judges of the Supreme Court, as well 
as some president judges, who administered the law in 
this region, appear to have been jovial fellows, not averse 
to whiskey, cards, and fun. 

The pioneer judges and lawyers were not blessed with 
the facilities and conveniences which surround those of 
the present day. They had no comfortable offices with 
their easy chairs, and shelves groaning under the weight 
of hundreds of volumes. No spring carriages or railroad 
cars bore them swiftly and without fatigue from one 
county to another. They carried their law in their 
heads, and their libraries in a pair of saddle-bags holding 
half a bushel, and the lawyers generally met their clients 
for the first time at the court-house door. Judge Jessup, 
in his address delivered at the inauguration of the new 
court-house, in January, 1859, says, that he well remem- 
bered " when the court set out from Wilkesbarre, followed 
by the bar on horseback, through Cobb's Gap, Wayne, 
Pike, and Susquehanna counties, bringing up at Bradford 
county." 

John Brown, Esq., an early resident of Berwick, Co- 
lumbia county, informed the author that he kept a house 
of entertainment in that place, at an early day, and that 
the j udges of the Supreme Court always lodged with him 
over night, on their way up the river to hold court at 
Wilkesbarre. The tavern was a low log-building, and 
occupied the ground where Mr. Bowman's store now 
stands. " The Judges," said he, " were sociable clever 
fellows, and could eat as much rye bread as any set of 
men I ever saw. I gave them good straw beds to sleep 
on, and put their horses in a shed adjoining the back 
part of the house, and when they were in bed they could 
hear their horses eating their corn, for there was nothing 



248 ANNALS OF LUZERNE * COUNTY. 



but a log wall between the feed trough and their sleeping- 
place." 

The president judges, who sat on our bench, are Judges 
Rush, Cooper, Chapman, Gibson, Burnside, Scott, Jessup, 
and Conyngham. From 1787 to 1791, the courts of the 
county were held by justices before mentioned. After 
the adoption of the constitution of 1790, Jacob Rush, 
commissioned as president judge, held his first court 
here, December Term, 1791. He continued to preside 
until 1806. He was succeeded by Thomas Cooper, who 
held his first court, August Term, 1806. Mr. Cooper 
was born in England in 1759. He had been a practicing 
attorney in Luzerne before his appointment as judge. 
He was a man of learning, and of a sprightly imagina- 
tion. He was in advance of the age, in his knowledge of 
minerals and of geology. He carried with him a hammer 
and acids, breaking rocks and testing their mineral quali- 
ties, and was supposed by some ignorant persons to be, 
on that account, impaired in intellect. He was the firm 
friend of freedom, and his bold pen caused his imprison- 
ment under the Alien and Sedition Laws. After his libera- 
tion. Governor McKean appointed him one of the com- 
missioners to carry into effect the Compromising Law of 
1799 and its supplements. To his energetic action were 
due the quiet and harmony that speedily ensued in this 
long troubled and unhappy country. He was sometimes 
exceedingly stern and severe as a judge. On one occa- 
sion a gentleman named Croup, seated in the court-house, 
leaned over and whispered something in the ear of Ste- 
phen HoUister, constable of Kingston. For this trivial 
act Judge Cooper sent them both to jail for several hours. 
The next week Mr. Hollister published a communication, 
over his own signature, in the " Federalist," in wliich he 
denounced Judge Cooper as an English tyrant, and called 



THE JUDICIARY. 249 



on the people to unite against him, to secure his removal 
and the appointment of an American judge. He was 
impeached for tyranny, and wrote a pamphlet in his de- 
fence. He died in South Carolina in 1839. 

Seth Chapman was commissioned to take the place of 
Mr. Cooper, and held his first court, August Term, 1811. 
Judge Chapman resided in the town of Northumberland. 
During the holding of the courts in Luzerne he boarded 
at some private house in preference to a tavern, but by 
no means despised whiskey, as was evidenced by the 
atmosphere of his room. He could not be reckoned a 
talented man, and was a judge of inferior abilities. Years 
after he had ceased to preside in Luzerne he was im- 
peached, and resigned his judgeship rather than risk the 
exposure and issue of a trial. 

In 1813, John Bannister Gibson follow;ed Judge Chap- 
man, and held his first court here, July Term of that 
year. This eminent judge was a Pennsylvanian by birth, 
born November 8th, 1780. After presiding here with 
great ability for three years, he was elevated to the 
Supreme Bench of the state in 1816, where he maintained 
his position and high reputation until his death on the 
3d of May, 1853. 

Thomas Burnside succeeded Judge Gibson, at the 
August Term of 1816. Judge Burnside was also finally 
elevated to the Supreme Bench. 

/^ David Scott held his first court here, August Term, 
1818. He was a native of Connecticut, born in 1782. 
He came to Wilkesbarre when a young man, and studied 
law. He possessed a naturally strong and active mind. 
He was a good lawj^er, a good judge, and an exemplary 
citizen. He eventually became so deaf as to be unable 
to discharge the duties of his ofiice. He died in 1839. 

William Jessup was commissioned, and held his first 



250 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



court, August Term, 1838. Judge Jessup is a native of 
Long Island, state of New York. He went to Montrose 
soon after the organization of Susquehanna county, and 
commenced the practice of law. He is a good lawyer, 
and an able judge. When on the bench he despatched 
business with admirable promptness and facility. 

John N. Conyngham succeeded Judge Jessup at the 
April Term of 1841. Judge Conyngham, the present 
incumbent, is a native of Philadelphia, and came to 
Wilkesbarre when a young man, and commenced the 
practice of law. It is said that his decisions stand the 
test of the Supreme Court better than those of any other 
judge in the state. 

Judge Scott was a member of a Christian church, as 
are also Judges Jessup and Conyngham. These latter 
gentlemen are active and among the foremost in benevo- 
lent and philanthropic enterprises. They are ever found 
throwing the moral influence of their exemplary charac- 
ters on the side of religion, and in favor of the best 
interests of their fellow-men. 

Matthias Hollenback, who had been made one of the 
justices for holding court in 1787, was appointed associate 
judge under the Constitution of 1790, and sat in that 
capacity until 1829, a period of 42 years. Jesse Fell 
occupied the position of associate judge from 1798 until 
1830, when he was succeeded by General William S. 
Ross. 

Matthias Hollenback was also the first treasurer, and 
was succeeded by Abel Yarington in 1789. 

Jonathan Fitch was the first sheriff under Connecticut 
jurisdiction for the county of Westmoreland. Lord 
Butler was first sheriff for the county of Luzerne. Among 
the gentlemen who occupied this office in the early his- 
tory of the county, we find the names of John Franklin, 



THE JUDICIARY. 



251 



William Slocum, Ezekiel Hyde, Arnold Colt, Thomas 
Wheeler, Jacob Hart, Benjamin Dorrance, Jabez Hyde, 
Jr., Elijah Shoemaker, Stephen Vanloon, Isaac Bowman, 
Jonathan Bulkely, Napthali Hurlbut, and Oliver Helme. 
In addition to the names of the eminent lawyers, 
already mentioned as practitioners at the Luzerne bar, we 
may add Thomas Graham, W. D. Nicholson, John Evans, 
T. B. Overton, Charles Catlin, T. B. Miner, H. King, 
Lewis Hepburn, James Bowman, James McCHntock, 
Benjamin D. Wright, Samuel Bowman, and Lewis Paine. 




LUZERNE COUNTY JAIL. 



The present jail was commenced in 1802, and com- 
pleted at a cost of $5846.43. The stone fire-proof build- 
ing for the public offices, which stood in the square adjoin- 
ing the court-house, was commenced in 1809, and com- 
pleted in 1812, and, with the jail-yard wall, cost about 
18500. The total cost of these buildings, together with 
the court-house, amounted to nearly the sum of $24,000. 



252 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 




MEW CODRT-HOUSE, WILKESBAERE. 



This was paid by a population not exceeding 11,000 in 
1800, or 19,000 in 1810, and when the wealth of the 
county was but a small fraction of what it is now. 

In 1855, a bill authorizing the erection of a new court- 
house passed the General Assembly, and became a law. 
August 12th, 1856, on invitation of the commissioners of 
Luzerne county, Lodge No. 61 Free and Accepted Ancient 
York Masons laid the corner-stone of the third court- 
house in the public square in Wilkesbarre. Hon. John 
N. Conyngham was selected, and invited by the lodge to 
deliver an address on the occasion. The committee of 
arrangements, appointed by the lodge, made every pre- 
paration to secure a general attendance of the citizens of 
the county. After prayer by the chaplain of the day^^ 



THE JUDICIARY. 253 



Rev. Dr. George Peck, the ceremony of laying the stone 
was gone through with. 

There was deposited in the stone, a copy of the Holy 
Bible; an American dollar and its parts; lists of the 
names of members of the several lodges of masons in the 
county ; list of names of the county officers ; list of names 
of members of the bench and bar ; list of names of 
the municipal officers of the borough of Wilkesbarre ; a 
copy of each paper published in the county ; a copy of 
Judge Conyngham's address. 

A large concourse of citizens, together with a number 
of ladies, were in attendance to witness the proceedings. 
The ceremonies were closed with prayer by the Rev. Mr. 
Hickock. 

The main building, appropriated to county offices, is 
100 feet in front by 55 feet in depth. The court-room is 
75 by 50 feet, and the rear building, occupied by the 
judges, lawyers, and juries' rooms, is 65 by 30 feet. The 
tower is 118 feet in height. The cost of this structure, 
including furniture, was about $85,000. The style of 
architecture is the Romanesque, an order invented in 
later ages in imitation of the Roman. The architect was 
Mr. J. C. Wells, of New York, but the building was 
erected under the immediate superintendence of Mr. D. 
A. Fell. It is regarded as a substantial and commodious 
fire-proof edifice. It was commenced and pushed forward 
almost to completion under the energetic administration 
of Benjamin F. Pfouts, William A. Tubbs, and Silas 
Dodson, Esquires, county commissioners. 

The jail, already mentioned as having being commenced 
in 1802, does not comport either in plan or system with 
the enlightenment of the age, nor with the elegance and 
commodious character of the new court-house. 

The Pennsylvania prison system has been endorsed 



254 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



and approved, not only by other states of the Republic, 
but by inspectors sent hither by European governments, 
as being the best in the world. It has been adopted by 
Lancaster, Chester, Dauphin, and other counties, and has 
in no case disappointed public expectation. Our old jail 
is now overflowing with idle prisoners, crowded together 
in small and unhealthy apartments, and supported exclu- 
sively from the treasury of the county. It would be 
economy, it would be sound policy, to erect a prison on a 
large scale, having in view the rapidly-increasing wealth 
and population of the county, and to adopt the improved 
system of discipline. Each prisoner would then occupy 
a separate and well-ventilated room or cell, and have his 
daily labor, whereby he would become a producer instead 
of an idle consumer. 

EXECUTIONS. 

The first sentence of death, followed by execution, 
within the limits of what is now Luzerne county, occurred 
under military law. Lawrence Miller and Michael Rose- 
bury induced men to desert from General Sullivan's 
army, then lying at Easton. They were tories, and were 
arrested ; and the army having in the mean time marched 
to Wyoming, they were tried here by court martial, and 
condemned to be hanged. A gallows was erected on the 
river bank at Wilkesbarre, and on the 1st of July, 1779, 
the two criminals, placed in a cart with their coffins, were 
borne to the place of execution. Rosebury had manifested 
no concern whatever during his trial, and subsequently 
had utterly disregarded the instructions and admonitions 
of his spiritual advisers, the chaplains of the army. He 
exhibited the same callousness and indifference on the 
gallows, and died with firmness in the presence of the 
whole army. Miller, on the other hand, had a wife and 



THE JUDICIARY. 255 



a numerous family of children. He had shown deep con- 
trition for his offense, and his respectful and sorrowful 
air on his trial had propitiated the favor of his judges, 
who had recommended him to mercy. His former good 
conduct also spoke loudly in his favor, and he had listened 
to and profited by the spiritual advice of the chaplains. 
Fifteen minutes had elapsed since Rosebury was swung 
off, and the executioner was advancing to adjust the rope 
about the neck of the unhappy Miller, when General Sul- 
livan announced his pardon. This sudden and unexpected 
turn in his fate was too much for Miller's nerves. He 
fainted ; but recovering, he took his place in the ranks, 
and ever after proved an obedient and faithful soldier. 

At the August Term of 1829, Judge Scott sentenced 
to death Henry Keck, who had shot and killed his father 
about a half a mile below Wilkesbarre. Henry's mother 
viewed the killing as a family affair, which concerned 
nobody but themselves, and expressed surprise when the 
officers of the law came to arrest her son. He was, how- 
ever, pardoned by Governor Shultz. This was considered 
an act of unbecoming and improper clemency, and excited 
great indignation among the people. Keck and the 
governor were both hanged and burnt in effigy in the 
public square at Wilkesbarre. After conveying the straw- 
criminals in a cart through the streets, with caps ready to 
be drawn over their faces and with ropes about their necks, 
Cuff Hicks, the executioner, proceeded to discharge his 
duty in these words : " Henry Keck and Mr. Gobernor 
Shultz, you hab just two and a half minutes to stay on 
dis earth, and if you hab anything to say, say it now, or 
eber after hold your peace." The effigies were suspended 
by their necks in the presence of a great multitude of 
people. Keck afterwards became insane, and wandered 
about the country from place to place. 



256 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Daniel Gilligan was waylaid and murdered below 
Wilkesbarre by James Cadden. Cadden had his trial 
and was found guilty at the August Term of 1848. He 
received his sentence from the lips of Judge Conyngham, 
and was executed in the jail-yard on Friday, March 2d, 
1849, William Koons being sheriff. Throughout the 
period of his imprisonment and trial down to the moment 
of his execution, he spoke but seldom, and practiced a 
studied reserve of manner. A few moments before his 
death, his spiritual adviser, at his instance, thanked the 
officers of justice for their kindness and attention; and 
warned all young men against bad associates and the use 
of ardent spirits. This was the first execution under the 
laws of Pennsylvania since the organization of Luzerne 
county. 

At April Term, 1853, Reese Evans was tried and con- 
victed of murder in the first degree. He was sentenced 
to death by Judge Conyngham, and was executed in the 
jail-yard, G. W. Palmer being sheriff, on Friday, Sep- 
tember 9th, 1853. Evans was a young Welshman about 
twenty years of age, who had induced Lewis Reese, a 
Jew, residing in Wilkesbarre, to accompany him to 
Kingston under pretence of procuring money there, to 
pay the Jew for clothing purchased of him. While 
crossing the fields, on the Kingston flats, he shot Reese 
with a pistol in the back part of his head ; then plunder- 
ing the pockets of his victim, whom he left dead on the 
ground, he fled. When his death-warrant was read to 
him a few weeks before his execution, he trembled, and 
covering his face with his hands, sank sobbing on the 
floor. During his imprisonment, his sister frequently 
visited him, and on one occasion brought a basket which 
she set down by the door of her brother's cell. By per- 
mission of the jailor, Evans walked out with his sister in 



THE JUDICIARY. 257 



the jail-yard, and on his return, as he passed the basket, 
he took out a bundle from it. The bundle contained a 
female dress in which the prisoner intended to escape; 
but its discovery by the jailor extinguished the last hope 
of the unhappy youth. In his confession he stated he 
had committed several robberies, and attributed his awful 
end to his keeping late hours and bad company. 

James Quinn took the life of Mahala Wiggins, by 
dashing out her brains with an axe, near the Nanticoke 
dam, as they were passing down the canal in a boat. He 
escaped, but was arrested in the West, and conveyed to 
the Wilkesbarre jail. He was tried, found guilty, and 
sentenced to death by Judge Conyngham, at the January 
Term of 1854. The same year, on Friday, the 21st of 
April, Abraham Drum being sheriff, he was executed in 
the jail-yard. When his death-warrant was read, he 
manifested considerable excitement, but soon regained his 
usual composure. He did not believe in a future state of 
rewards and punishments. He ran up the steps to the 
platform of the gallows, and surveyed the rope with a 
degree of self-possession and calmness which astonished 
every beholder. A physician, utterly astounded at such 
perfect composure, approached the prisoner a few moments 
before his execution, and placing his fingers on his pulse, 
found it beating with amazing ra,pidity, and giving evi- 
dence of intense excitement. The exterior appeared 
calm, but within there was a raging tumult of emotion. 

William Muller killed George Mathias, in his own 
house, on the Easton and Wilkesbarre Turnpike, a few 
miles from Wilkesbarre. The instrument used in the 
commission of the crime was a hatchet, and the murderer 
concealed the body of his victim in the well. He was 
tried and found guilty at the January Term of 1858, 
Judge Conyngham presiding, and was executed in the jail- 
17 



258 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



yard on Friday, April 30th, of the same year, Jasper B. 
Stark b(3ing sherifif. He ascended the steps leading to the 
scaffold with a quick but self-possessed movement, and 
addressed those present, for several minutes, in tho Ger- 
man language. His address was then read in English by 
his spiritual adviser. The young man expressed his faith 
in the merits of the Redeemer, and warned all who heard 
him against rum and vicious companions. It is said he 
believed that the physicians could restore him to life after 
the hanging, provided his neck was not broken. The 
fall, however, rent the vertebrae of his spinal column 
nearly two inches asunder. 

Since 1836, there has been a large influx of a mixed 
population, consequent on the development of the mineral 
resources of the county. Crime and litigation have in- 
creased accordingly, during the last quarter of a century. 
Civil suits have increased to hundreds, while Common- 
wealth costs have grown from an average of $300 per 
annum, prior to 1836, to $1000, the average since that 
year. 

The number of deeds and mortgages recorded since the 
organization of the county is 48,823. The largest num- 
ber of deeds and mortgages recorded in any one year is 
2257, which was done by Charles Hays, Esq., Recorder, 
and his clerks in 1856. . The number of executions, issued 
from 1787 to the close of August Term, 1859, is 37,084. 
The largest number issued in any one year (1857) is 
1979. 

The number of judgments entered, since the formation 
of the Judgment Docket, in 1827, is 46,124. The largest 
number entered in any one year (1858) is 3855. 

In 1859, Luzerne was constituted one, the lltli. Judi- 
cial District, having 4 Courts of Oyer and Terminer, &c., 
annually, besides 6 Courts of Common Pleas. In addi- 



THE JUDICIARY. 



259 



tion, by the Act incorporating the city of Carbondale, the 
President Judge of the district is made Recorder of that 
city, and required to hold Recorder's Court. Moreover, 
there are from 2 to 4 special courts annually held in the 
county. 




COURT-HOUSE, CARBONDALE. 



From 1787 to 1800, the average annual expenditures 
of the county were $3600. From 1800 to 1810, during 
which the second public buildings were erected, the ave- 
rage was 17200 annually. From 1810 to 1820, without 
Bradford and Susquehanna counties, the average was 
$9000, but it must be borne in mind that a portion of the 
debt incurred in the construction of the county buildings 
was paid during this decade. From 1820 to 1830, the 
average was $7800 a year. From 1830 to 1842, when 
Wyoming county was stricken off, the annual expendi- 
tures averaged $12,500. From 1843 to 1865, inclusive, 
the expenditures have been as follows : — 



260 



ANNALS OF LUZEENE COUNTY. 



For 1843 


$ 9,863.90 


For 1855 


111,990.70 


1844 


10,278.07 


1856 


43,094.23 


1845 


13,091.19 


1857 


29,536.11 


1846 


14,669.36 


1858 


33,685.00 


1847 


14,551.83 


1859 


35,936.77 


1848 


14,050.07J 


1860 


28,921.76 


1849 


12,419.87 


1861 


31,768.77 


1850 


13,148.05 


1862 


40,828.93 


1851 


12,172.37 


1863 


37,101.76 


1852 


12,645.50 


1864 


30,140.00 


1853 


15,106.22 


1865 


28,983.56 


1854 


12,022.76 







In 1801 the valuation of property in Luzerne for tax- 
able purposes amounted to $767,643, and in 1809 to 
$1,050,700. In 1845, without Bradford, Susquehanna, 
and Wyoming counties, the valuation was $4,825,081, 
and in 1857 it was $7,779,301; in 1865, $10,500,000. 
The state tax has increased since 1845 from $13,000 to 
$25,000, being about $1.20 for each taxable inhabitant. 

The following table shows the number of persons, and 
the term of years for which they were sentenced to the 
Penitentiary by the courts of our county, from 1787 to 
1860, together with the crimes for which they were pun- 
ished. The total number of offenders is 167, of which 
119 were tried and found guilty since 1836. 



THE JUDICIARY. 



261 



Crimes. 


I Number of Criminals. 


Term of Years. 


Murder in the 2d degree, 


2 




18 


t< 


1 




15 


<( 


1 




12 


(( 


2 




10 


c< 


1 




9 


« 


3 




8 


<( 


2 




6 


<( 


1 




5 


l( 


2 




4 




Total, 


15 




Manslaughter, 


2 


2 


2 


Highway Kobbery, 


1 




7 


(< 


1 




5 


It 


1 


3 


1 


Burglary, 


3 




7 


(( 


2 




3 


(C 


1 




n 


(( 


2 


8 


I 


Larceny, 


99 


99 


varying from 1 to 6 


Passing counterfeit money, 


11 


" 1 to 7 






11 




Forgery, 


10 


10 


" 1 to 5 


Bigamy, 


I 




10-12 




1 


2 


n 


Receiving stolen goods, 


2 


2 


2 


Conspiracy, . 


1 


l' 


2 


Perjury, 


1 


1 




1 


2 


1 in county jail 


Assault and Battery with 






intent to kill, . 


5 


5 


varying from 1 to 3 


In possession of counterfeit 






money, &c.. 


1 


1 

3 


3 


Misdemeanor, 


3 


varying from 2 to 5 


Rape, .... 


1 


21 


<< 


1 




3 


" 


1 


3 
167 


1 



CHAPTER VII I. 

EDUCATION. 

The clouds may drop down titles and estates, 
Wealth may seek us — but wisdom must be sought. 

Young's Night Thoughts. 

The Susquehanna Company, appreciating the advan- 
tages of education, appropriated about 500 acres of land 
in each township, as a basis for the estabhshment and 
support of schools among the first settlers. The com- 
pany also appropriated several thousand acres of land, in 
the eastern portion of their purchase, for the benefit of 
the Indian school of Dr. Wheelock, in Connecticut, at 
which several Delaware Indians, and the celebrated 
Mohawk chief. Brant, were educated. This school was 
the foundation of Dartmouth College, of which Dr. Whee- 
lock was the first president. 

These facts evince the deep interest felt by the com- 
pany in the education not only of the whites, but also of 
the red men of the forest. 

Prior to 1773, no organized efibrt had been made by 
the early inhabitants for the establishment of schools 
among them ; but in that year, by a vote of the town, a 
tax of three pence on a pound was levied for the support 
of a free school in each township. In the following year, 
the first school committee, consisting of Captain Lazarus 
Stewart and fifteen others, was appointed with power to 
erect school-houses and to employ teachers. 

(262> 



EDUCATION. 263 



Some of their teachers were men of ability, learned, 
energetic, and faithful in discharge of their duties. 
Others, it would appear, are described in the character 
of Ichabod Crane, as given in the "Legend of Sleepy 
Hollow." The Yankee schoolmaster generally " boarded 
around" among the patrons of his school, attended all the 
quiltings and singing-schools, sometimes neglected his 
scholars, did not neglect the girls, and was usuall}^ devoted 
to one in particular. At some of his stopping-places he 
fared sumptuously, at most places he had to put up with 
"pot luck," while at a few places his sides and jaws ex- 
hibited a decided collapse at the close of the boarding 
week. The early schoolmasters were a very useful, but 
poorly remunerated class of the people. We do not learn 
that any of them ever received land for their services, as 
did some of the " orthodox ministers of the gospel." After 
the jurisdiction of Connecticut and the Susquehanna Com- 
pany ceased, several of the school tracts of land were 
leased for a term of years. Finally, nearly, if not all the 
tracts were sold, and the proceeds added to the township 
funds, under the authority of a legislative enactment of 
this state. 

The constitution, or laws of every state in the Union, 
provide, to a greater or less extent, for educating the 
rising generation. Pennsylvania, though late in her 
movements in this direction, has, nevertheless, advanced 
steadily in her course, until her system of education is 
equaled by few, and surpassed by no other among 
civilized men. The incipient steps of our system were 
the laws of 1809 and 1824, which provided for educating 
poor children at the public expense. From 1824 to 
1833, when the free school system was introduced, 
Luzerne county expended $3509 for this purpose. This 
appears like a small sum for educating the poor during a 



264 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



period of ten years in a county like Luzerne. We have 
no doubt, however, that it was sufficient to meet the 
demand, as the people were not then fully aroused to the 
importance of the subject. 

By the provisions of the common school law of 1833, 
the people were to express their approval or disapproval 
of the measure by electing, or refusing to elect, six direc- 
tors in each township. In September, 1834, a vote was 
taken in 26 townships, when 23 approved of, and three, 
Hanover, Newport, and Nescopeck, disapproved of the 
law. In November following, the directors elected assem- 
bled, as instructed by Act of Assembly, at the court-house 
in Wilkesbarre, and resolved to levy a school tax equal 
to double the sum appropriated and allotted by the state 
to Luzerne county. The sum so allotted was $1331.20, 
and consequently the whole amount appropriated for 
public education in this county for that year was $3993.60. 
This was a creditable and flattering commencement. In 
the following year a tax of $3000 was levied, and, with 
the exception of two or three townships, the . excellent 
system of free education was permanently established 
among us. It is now in full operation in every ward, 
borough, and township in the county, carrying its en- 
lightening and ameliorating influence into every family. 
But we are forbidden to believe that every individual 
among us feels this influence directly. The system has 
not been long enough in operation, nor has it yet attained 
to that degree of perfection which we anticipate for it. 
In 1850, there were 55,000 adults in this state who could 
not read and write, and of these 2228 were inhabitants 
of Luzerne county. This great Commonwealth, in spite 
of an almost overpowering public debt, has gradually 
built up her splendid system of education at an enormous 
expense. She annually appropriates hundreds of thou- 



EDUCATION. 



265 



sands jf dollars for this purpose, and, strange to say, there 
are some townships in the state which have not to this 
day availed themselves of the advantages of the school 
law. It has been made a question in some sections of the 
country whether the right of the elective jQranchise ought 
to be extended to those persons who are unable to read. 
It would certainly be a powerful incentive to parents and 
others if the right to vote depended on a certain degree 
of mental culture to be readily acquired under our school 
system. If eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, it may 
be said no vigilance can be effectual without educated 
mind to direct it. 

The following table exhibits a statistical view of the 
public schools in Luzerne county, taken from the Report 
of the Superintendent for the year 1865 : 





No. of 


No. of 


Amt. of tax levied 


School Districts. 


Schools. 


Scholars. 


for sch'l purposes. 


1. Abington . . 


19 


875 


$2,643 02 


2. Bear Creek 








2 


75 




3. Benton 








9 


339 


1,260 00 


4. Black Creek 








4 


190 


500 00 


5. Blakeley 








11 


1095 


2,775 86 


6. Buck .... 








5 


118 


462 18 


7. Butler 








7 


333 


914 93 


8. Carbondale city . 








10 


1219 


3,575 57 


9. Carbondale township . 








4 


145 


461 29 


10. Columbus, New . 








1 


45 


106 49 


11. Covington . 








7 


282 


930 65 


12. Dallas . 








8 


292 


597 82 


13. Denison 








4 


139 


661 02 


14. Dorrance . 








4 


147 


626 58 


15. Dunmore 








7 


571 


1,500 00 


16. Exeter 








6 


299 


531 00 


17. Fairmount . 








8 


333 


825 00 


18. Fell . 








5 


174 


590 75 


19. Foster . 








5 


295 


2,198 26 


20. Franklin 








5 


193 


647 94 


21. Greenfield . 








9 


281 


400 00 


22. Hazel .... 








15 


1475 


5,598 93 


23. Hazelton borough 








5 


563 


2,160 71 


24. Hollenback. 








8 


312 


1,260 49 


25. Hanover 








9 


538 


1,800 00 


26. Huntington 








10 


459 


1,129 10 


27. Hyde Park . 








6 


431 


1,893 32 



266 



ANNALS OP LUZERNE COUNTY. 



School Districts. 



No. of 
Schools. 



No. of 
Scholars. 



Amt. of tax levied 
for Bch'l purposes. 



28. Jackson 

29. Jefferson 

30. Jenkins 

31. Kingston boroueh 

32. Kingston townsnip 

33. Lackawanna 

34. Lake . 

35. Lehman 

36. Madison 

37. Nesoopeck 

38. Newport 

39. Newton 

40. Pittston boi-ough 

41. Pittston township 

42. Pittston, West . 

43. Plains 

44. Plymouth . 

45. Providence borough 

46. Providence township 

47. Ransom 

48. Ross . 

49. Salem. 

50. Scott . 

51. Scranton 

52. Shickshinny 

53. Slocum 

54. Spring Brook 

55. Sugai-loaf . 

56. Union . 

57. Waverly 

58. White Haven 

59. W'ilkesbarre borough 

60. Wilkesbarre township 

61. Wright 



6 

^ 

6 
2 

11 
- 8 
6 
6 
8 
5 
4 
6 

13 
7 
3 
4 

10 
5 
4 
4 
7 

10 

11 

15 
2 
2 
3 
7 
9 
3 
4 

16 

m 

2 
419 



232 
151 
478 
117 
519 
751 
182 
177 
385 
270 
133 
200 

1110 
484 
204 
364 
715 
344 
429 
138 
274 
422 
557 

2976 
112 



350 
380 
145 

250 

687 
662 

72 

25,534 



417 42 

457 70 

1,213 40 

315 40 

1,492 36 

2,389 50 

372 00 

434 31 

755 29 

759 20 

633 00 

592 67 

2,865 52 

1,250 00 

771 16 

859 95 

1,519 63 

1,700 00 

1,200 00 

311 30 

400 00 

1,152 40 

669 82 

8,871 05 

322 45 

298 37 

246 00 

950 50 

600 00 

467 36 

980 38 

3,404 40 

2,265 53 

100 00 

$77,088 98 



EDUCATION". 



267 




OLD ACADEMY, WILKESBARRE. 



WILKESBARRE ACADEMY. 

After the erection of the new court-house, in Wilkes- 
barre, in 1804, the old building, which had been removed 
to a point a few feet west of the present court-house, was 
converted into an Academy. It was incorporated under 
the style and title of the Wilkesbarre Academy, and was 
the first institution of learning, superior to the common 
log school-house, in Luzerne county. The first teacher or 
principal was the Rev. Mr. Thayer, an Episcopal clergy- 
man, who was followed by Mr. Finney. Mr. Finney was 
succeeded by Garrick Mallery in 1809. The trustees 
requested Dr. Dwight, of Yale College, to send them an 
active, intelligent, and competent teacher and graduate. 
The doctor sent them Mr. Mallery, under whose superin- 
tendence the school advanced to considerable eminence. 
Greek, Latin, the mathematics, and all the higher English 



268 ANNALS OP LUZERNE COUNTY. 



branches were taught here. Soon the institution became 
very popular, and students from abroad came in such 
numbers that the trustees, by the advice of Mr. Mallery, 
engaged Andrew Beaumont as assistant. Mr. Beaumont 
was then an active, intelligent young man, just arrived 
in the valley. Messrs. Mallery and Beaumont were suc- 
ceeded by Joel and Joseph H. Jones. Then followed 
Woodbridge, Baldwin, Granger, Orton, Miner, Talcott, 
Ulmann, Hubbard, and Dana. Finally, the old edifice 
was sold to Colonel H. F. Lamb, who removed a portion 
of it to his lot in Franklin street, where it was used in 
the erection of the building now occupied as a dwelling. 
Such was the end of the first court-house and academy in 
Luzerne county. There are among us men and women 
who can look back twenty, thirty, forty, or even fifty 
years, with fond recollection to the days when, with 
bounding youth and health, they assembled with their 
companions within the walls of the old academy, or sported 
on its play-grounds. Some, within its venerated walls, 
have filled their minds, as from a storehouse, with useful 
knowledge, and have so disciplined their intellectual 
faculties as to have been enabled to rise to positions of 
distinction and profit. Others there were of brilliant 
talents, bright prospects, and surrounded by all the 
advantages of social position, who went forth from that 
institution and became mere ciphers in society. They 
have gone down to their graves unhonored and unsung. 

In 1842 a new brick academy was erected on the site 
of the old one, and a high school prospered there for 
several years, under the tuition of Messrs. Owen and 
Jackson, but eventually dwindled to a common day 
school. In 1858, the building was sold to E. B. Harvey, 
Esq., who removed and converted it into his present resi- 
dence on Union street. 



EDUCATION. 269 



It may not be amiss to mention the names of some of 
the teachers and students of the Wilkesbarre Academy, 
who have risen to eminence in the world. 

Garrick Mallery, LL.D., was a president judge of the 
state courts, and is now one of the first lawyers in the 
nation. Andrew Beaumont was a statesman, who ably 
represented his constituents in the State Legislature and 
in Congress, and who held important trusts under the 
federal government. Daniel Ulmann is an eminent lawyer 
in New York, and was a candidate for the office of 
governor of that great state. Joel Jones has been a 
president judge, and is now a prominent lawyer in Phila- 
delphia. H. B. Wright is an able lawyer, and has repre- 
sented this district in Congress. B. A. Bidlack also 
represented this district In Congress, and afterwards 
became the United States minister at the capital of New 
Granada, where he died. Luther Kidder was a lawyer 
of note, and a president judge. George W. Woodward is 
one of the supreme judges of Pennsylvania. Dr. S. D. 
Gross is Professor of Surgery in the Jefferson Medical 
College in Philadelphia. Ovid F. Johnson was a brilliant 
lawyer, and the attorney-general of this state. Samuel 
Bowman, D.D.,was the acting bishop of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church in Pennsylvania. J. S. Hart was lately the 
eminent principal of the Philadelphia High School. There 
are also Zebulon Butler, D.D., of Mississippi, and George 
Catlin, a celebrated painter. E. W. Morgan was major 
of the eleventh United States regiment of infantry during 
the Mexican War, and is now principal of the military 
school at Newport, Ky. Major A. H. Bowman of the 
United States Army, and Lieutenant J. C. Beaumont of 
the United States Navy, were also pupils in this academy. 

In 1812 the citizens of Kingston erected a large two 
story frame building, to be used for the purposes of an 



270 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



academy. This school was first taught by Thomas Bart- 
lett, who had been an assistant under Mr. Mallery, in the 
Wilkesbarre Academy. He was followed by Bennett, 
Severs, Bissel (Governor of Illinois), Ketchum and others, 
under whose discipline and instruction the institution 
prospered for many years. It was finally supplanted by 
new and enlarged schools, and the building becoming 
dilapidated, it was demolished by Mr. E. Reynolds, who 
erected his present residence on or near its site. 

In 1815 the citizens of Plymouth erected a large two 
story frame building for educational purposes. Schools 
were taught in it by Steel, Park, and others, until 1828, 
when the first classical school was organized under the 
direction and principalship of Benjamin M. Nyce. He 
was succeeded by Patterson and Severs. This building 
is still standing, and is the oldest academy in the county. 
Like the one in Kingston, it had a bell, and was used for 
many years as a place of religious worship. 

With these venerated old school-houses and teachers, 
the plain, substantial, old-fashioned system of education 
has passed away. They have been replaced by new and 
splendid edifices, occupied by new teachers, adopting new 
systems, new books, and imparting new ideas. 

MADISON ACADEMY. 

The late H. W. Nicholson, Esq., opened a select school 
at Abington, now Waverly, in 1836. He was succeeded 
by one of his pupils, G. S. Bailey, who, with the assist- 
ance of Dr. A. Bedford and others, laid the foundation of 
Madison Academy. This academy was incorporated in 
1840. The building is frame, two and a half stories high, 
and is located on an elevated point of ground, overlooking 
the town and surrounding country. It is one of the most 
healthy and pleasant locations in the county. During 



EDUCATION. 271 



the first five years the average number of students in 
attendance was one hundred, which was afterwards 
reciuced to about eighty. The principals have been 
Messrs. Dimock, Walker, Johnson, Richardson, Shafer, 
Granger, and Dalpe, the last-named gentleman being the 
present incumbent.* The establishment of this institu- 
tion, and its successful operation under the direction of 
active teachers and enterprising trustees, does great credit 
to the energy, intelligence, and public spirit of the people 
of Waverly and the surrounding country. This school 
has been advantageous not only to the immediate neigh- 
borhood, but its beneficial influence has been felt abroad. 

WYOMING CONFERENCE SJijillNARY. 

This flourishing institution is pleasantly situated in the 
village of Kingston. It was opened on the 24th of Sep- 
tember, 1844, with 30 students, the faculty at the time 
consisting of Rev. R. Nelson, A. M., Principal, and Mr. 
E. F. Farris and Miss Ruth Ingalls, Teachers. The open- 
ing address was delivered by the Rev. J. P. Durbin, D.D. 
The anticipated success of this seminary has been fully 
realized. The yearly number of students has increased 
to upwards of 700, which fact establishes the character 
of Mr. Nelson and his assistants, together with the Board 
of Trustees, for competency, energy, and good govern- 
ment. The original building cost about $6000, one-fourth 
of which was contributed by Thomas Myers, Esq. In 
1851 William Swetland, Esq., contributed $3000 for the 
erection of Swetland Hall, and the Hon. Ziba Bennett 
donated $500, as the foundation for a library. On the 
15th of March, 1853, the entire establishment was con- 
sumed by fire, but through the noble liberality of William 
Swetland, his son George and his son-in-law Payne Petti- 
bone, who together donated $8000, of Isaac C. Shoemaker, 

* This academy is now conducted by Rev. J. N. Lukens and Mr. II. W, 
Mitchell. Students, 100. 



272 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



who gave $1000, and of Urban Burrows and A. Y. Smith, 
who each contributed $500, the institution was at once 
raised from its ashes. Judge Bennett also made another 
liberal donation to replace the library. The entire pro- 
perty of this institution is now valued at $50,000. The 
seminary is under the general superintendence of the 
Wyoming Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
but the trustees and board of directors are composed of 
able men, without regard to denominational preferences. 
The present faculty is composed as follows : — 

Kev. Keuben Nelson, D. D., Principal and Professor of 
Intellectual and Moral Science. 

Rev. B. D. Sturdevant, A. M., Professor of Natural 
Science. 

George Forsyth, A. B., Professor of Languages and 
Vocal Music. 

Conrad S. Stark, A. M., Professor of Mathematics. 

Miss Hannah M. Price, A. M., Preceptress and Teacher 
of English Literature. 

Miss Penelope E. Baldwin, Teacher of Instrumental 
Music. 

Mrs. Jane S. Nelson, Teacher of Drawing and Painting. 

George Forsyth, A. B., Librarian. 

COMMERCIAL COLLEGE.* 

Faculty. 

Winfield S. Smyth, A. M., Principal and Professor of 
Science of Accounts and Lecturer on Political Economy. 

Bev. Horatio R. Clarke, D. D., Lecturer on Commer- 
cial Ethics. 

Caleb E. Wright, Esq., \y , ^ . , t 

^ - -, r>. r., , TM ^ Lecturers on Commercial Law. 
Conrad S. Stark, Esq., ] 

J. A. Wickersham, Professor of Plain and Ornamental 

* The Wyoming College Journal is connected with this department. Motto : 
" The time has come when every young man must have abusiness education." 



EDUCATION. 273 



Penmanship and Book-keeping. 

A. J. Erdman, Teacher of Practical Telegraphing. 

THE WYOMING INSTITUTE. 

This Institute is located in the pleasant village of 
Wyoming, and was established chiefly through the agency 
of the Rev. Thomas P. Hunt, Thomas F. Atherton, Esq., 
and the Rev. J. D. Mitchell, its first Principal. The 
buildings are commodious and well arranged, being 
divided into separate departments for the two sexes. 
The first classes were formed in 1849, and the institution 
was incorporated in the following year. It has a library, 
and a philosophical and chemical apparatus. It has been 
successively under the teachings of the Rev. R. Lowrie, 
missionary to China, Rev. C. R. Lavie, Rev. P. E. Ste- 
venson, and A. B. King, the present incumbent. The 
school is prosperous, and though not sectarian, it is under 
the principal direction of the Presbyterian Church. 

THE WILKESBARRE FEMALE INSTITUTE. 

This is a fine airy three-story bric'k building, standing 
on River street, in the borough of Wilkesbarre. It was 
chartered in 1854, and in October of that year opened 
with 50 female pupils, under the superintendence of the 
Rev. J. E. Nassau. Mr. Nassau was succeeded by the 
Rev. J. S. Howes, A.M., the present principal.* The 
institution is under the general direction of the Presbytery 
of Luzerne county. It has a library, a philosophical and 
chemical apparatus, and is in successful operation with 
about 80 pupils. This institution, becoming pecuniarily 
involved, was extricated from its embarrassment by the 
liberality of Colonel G. M. Hollenback and others. 

* This flourishing school now numbers upwards of 100 pupils, and is 
conducted by Rev. W. S. Parsons, A. M. 
18 



274 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 




SCRANTON GRADED SCHOOL. 



Ill addition to the above incorporated institutions, 
select schools have been established at various periods in 
Wilkesbarre, Pittston, Scranton, Carbondale, Huntington, 
and other places in the county. Large and spacious 
buildings have been erected at Scranton, Providence, and 
Waverly, where preparations are making, in accordance 
with the true intent and meaning of the common school 
laws for the establishment of graded schools. Perhaps no 
county in the state can boast of better and more extensive 
means for educating the youth of the land ; and though 
there is gross ignorance in some localities, yet much 
intelligence is diffused among the great body of the people. 
Noble, generous-hearted, and benevolent men, as well as 
the Commonwealth, have done all in their power to 
advance the cause of education among us. Let us bear 
in mind that the acquirement of useful knowledge should 
be one of the first objects of every American, for its pos- 
session is the surest protection against poverty and 
oppression. 



CHAPTERIX. 
EELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 

It has been the impression that the Count Zinzendorf 
was the first white man who ever visited the Wyoming 
Valley, but it is probable this is a mistake. Conrad 
Weiser had been employed, long before the arrival of the 
Count, as interpreter and agent, by the proprietary 
government. He frequently visited the councils of the 
Six Nations, bearing messages and presents, and arrang- 
ing the preliminaries for forming treaties. As the grand 
council fire of the Iroquois was kindled in the state of 
New York, his direct road thither was through our valley. 
It is probable it was in view of his acquaintance with the 
country, as well as its inhabitants, that Count Zinzendorf 
applied to Weiser to accompany him to this region. Zin- 
zendorf, however, was undoubtedly the first minister of 
the gospel who proclaimed the glad tidings of salvation to 
the red men of our forests. 

The doctrines of Jesus Christ were announced for the 
first time, on the banks of our river, one hundred and 
eighteen years ago. We have given, elsewhere, an 
account of the doings of the zealous Moravian mission- 
aries. We proceed now to give a brief history of the first 
introduction and establishment of the principal religious 
denominations in our county, together with some facts 
and statistics relative to their present condition. 

(275) 



276 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

The Presbyterian Church in the United States is the 
offspring of the Scottish and Scotch-Irish Churches in 
Scotland and Ireland. It differs from the Congregation- 
alism of New England only in form of church govern- 
ment. The former acknowledges the authority of Pres- 
byteries, Synods, and the General Assembly ; the latter 
views each congregation as entirely independent, and 
vests all ecclesiastical authority in each local church . 

The Presbyterians, who settled in Pennsylvania, Mary- 
land, and- Virginia from 1670 to 1690, received their 
pastors from the Presbyteries of the Old World, whereas 
the Puritans, who settled New England, acted indepen- 
dently of the Mother Church. As the first settlers in 
Wyoming were chiefly New England Congregationalists, 
their form of church government w^as adopted here. But 
during the administration of the Rev. Mr. Murray, prior 
to 1833, the Presbyterian form of church government 
took the place of the Congregational, and the church in 
Luzerne is now embraced in the former organization. 

The first Presbytery in the United States was organ- 
ized in 1704, and the first Synod in 1716. In March, 
1744, the Presbytery of New York sent the Rev. David 
Brainerd, a native of Haddam, Conn., as a missionary to 
the Indians on the Delaware. At the Forks, where Eas- 
ton stands, he began his labor of love among the wild 
men of the forest. In the following October, accompa- 
nied by the Rev. Mr. Bayram, the minister at Mendham, 
New Jersey, he set out for the Susquehanna. His jour- 
ney over the mountains and through the wilderness was 
attended with great hardships and misfortune. In pass- 
ing over some rocks his horse broke one of her legs, and 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 277 



he was compelled to kill her, and proceed on foot. They 
arrived at length at the Delaware town, at the mouth of 
the Wapwallopen Creek. He preached here to the In- 
dians for several days, and then returned to the Delaware 
river. In 1745 and 1746 he traveled along the Lower 
Susquehanna, and up the West Branch, preaching to the 
Indians at Shamokin (Sunbury) and at other points. On 
one of his missions he was compelled to shelter himself, 
during a cold and stormy night, in the branches of a tree, 
and getting very wet, he contracted a severe cold, of which 
he died. He was succeeded by his brother John, who 
resided on the Delaware, but who frequently visited Wyo- 
ming, and preached to the Indians there. On the break- 
ing out of the French war, both the Moravian and Pres- 
byterian missionaries were compelled to retire from the 
frontiers. 

Among the earliest acts of the Connecticut Susque- 
hanna Land Company, was a regulation providing support 
for a minister who should accompany the first emigrants 
to the valley in 1763. The Eev. William Marsh, a pastor 
of the Congregational persuasion, was selected to minister 
to the spiritual necessities of the colony. He discharged 
the duties of his calling until the fatal 15th of October, 
17^3, when he and about twenty others were murdered 
by the savages in the village of the whites, which stood 
on the river bank, below the site of Wilkesbarre.* 

At a meeting held by the company at Hartford, in 
1768, the standing committee was directed to procure a 
pastor to accompany the second colony, called the First 
Forty, for " carrying on religious worship and services 
according to the best of his ability, in a wilderness coun- 
try." He was to receive " one whole share or right in the 

* For names of persons killed, see Appendix, A. 



278 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



purchase, and such other encouragements" as others were 
entitled to have and enjoy. The company recommended 
the settlers to provide their pastor " with sustenance, 
according to the best of their ability." The services of 
the Rev. George Beckwith, Jr., of Lyme, Mass., were 
engaged, and he arrived at Wyoming, with the fir^t forty, 
February 8th, 1769. 

For the support of schools and " an orthodox gospel 
ministry," the company now appropriated three shares of 
land in each township, one for schools, one for the erec- 
tion of a church and parsonage, and one for the support 
of a pastor. Each tract or share contained about 300 
acres, but with one or two exceptions the will of the com- 
pany was not carried out, owing to the unsettled condi- 
tion of affairs down to the organization of Luzerne county. 
After that the church and school lots alike were sold, and 
the proceeds passed into the treasuries of the townships. 
Mr. Beckwith remained at Wyoming about one year, and 
was compensated for his services from the treasury of the 
Susquehanna Company. In 1770, the company engaged 
the Rev. Jacob Johnson, of Groton, Conn., to supply the 
place of Mr. Beckwith. Mr. Johnson hastened to his 
new field of labor, and ministered as best he could in holy 
things, in the midst of civil strife. Hq^ remained but a 
few months, when he returned to Connecticut, leaving 
the Rev. Elkanah Hobnes in charge of the belligerent 
flock of Yankees and Paxton Boys. 

In 1772, the Rev. Noah Wadhams, who had graduated 
at Princeton College, N. J., in 1754, and on whom Yale 
College had conferred the degree of A. M. in 1764, came 
to Wyoming, and soon after settled in Plymouth. Here 
he preached at stated seasons, and extended his pastoral 
labors to Kingston also. 

In 1773, the Rev. Mr. Johnson received a call from 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 279 



the settlers at Wilkesbarre. He faithfully performed his 
pastoral duties, preaching in private dwellings until 1791, 
when the new log court-house was erected in the public 
square. Here public worship was conducted for a num- 
ber of years. 

About this time a Dutch or German Reformed Congre- 
gational minister, named Von Benscotten, arrived in the 
valley from the Hudson. He was very zealous in the 
cause of religion, and established the first Congregational 
society in Hanover township. Here the Pax ton Boys 
were settled, who were chiefly Presbyterians, and who 
had erected a frame church, the first in the county, near 
the present German Presbyterian church, four miles below 
Wilkesbarre. 

In 1792, Von Benscotten was succeeded by the Rev. 
Andrew Gray, a Scotch Irish preacher of considerable 
ability. Shortly after assuming his pastoral duties he 
married one of his thirty communicants. Miss Mary, 
daughter of Captain Lazarus Stewart. He, with Mr. 
Johnson of Wilkesbarre, and Mr. Wadhams of Plymouth, 
constituted the entire clerical force of Congregationalism 
at this time in the valley. 

In 1795, Mr. Johnson died, and was buried in a grave, 
prepared by his own hands, on Bowman's Hill above 
Wilkesbarre. Mr. Gray removed to the state of New 
York, where he preached for many years, and departed 
this life in a green old age ; while Mr. Wadhams, becoming 
advanced in years and superannuated, di^d in Plymouth, 
in 1806. 

After the departure of these ministers the Congrega- 
tionalists had no settled clergyman among them, and 
Luzerne county became missionary ground, to be supplied 
by the Connecticut Missionary Society. Divine service 
was performed only occasionally by the missionaries, 



280 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



among whom were the Revs. J. W. Woodward and D. 
Harrowell, who were paid a stipulated sum for each ser- 
mon preached. But we are anticipating the order of 
events. 

In 1788, John Franklin, the indomitable Yankee 
leader, and his associates, who had captured Timothy 
Pickering, were arraigned before the Supreme Court, at 
Wilkesbarre, Judge McKean presiding. Franklin was 
released on bail, and the rest were tried for riot. The 
trials being closed, and sentence having been pronounced 
on a number of the offenders, the action of the court was 
denounced by the great body of the population. In par- 
ticular, Mr. Johnson took occasion to condemn the whole 
proceedings from the pulpit. By order of Judge McKean, 
he was brought before the court, and required to give 
bonds for his -good behavior. 

After the completion of the log court-house, in 1791, 
as before stated, it was occupied by Mr. Johnson's con- 
gregation for divine service ; but their pastor did not feel 
at home in a building appropriated to the uses of what 
he considered an unholy court. 

" He was of that stubborn crew, 
Presbyterian true blue, 
Who prove their doctrine orthodox. 
By apostolic blows and knocks." 

With a determined will Mr. Johnson set about to erect 
a church for his congregation, and in 1791, through his 
exertions, the town of Wilkesbarre was induced to appoint 
a committee to select a site for the edifice. The com- 
mittee was composed of Zebulon Butler, Nathan Waller, 
J. P. Schott, Timothy Pickering, and Daniel Gore. 

In 1792, another committee w^as appointed by the town 
to secure subscriptions, to which was added the proceeds 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 281 



from the sale of the public ferry. It was not, however, 
until 1800 that the contract to build was let to Joseph 
Hitchcock, and the foundation of the " Old Ship Zion" 
was laid on the site, selected by the first committee, in 
the public square. 

Mr. Johnson did not live to see the commencement of 
the church on which his heart was set so ardently, and 
nearly all his older members followed him to the grave 
before its completion. In June, 1801, the building was 
enclosed, and its lofty steeple was finished, but soon after, 
for want of funds, it was -deserted by the workmen, and 
remained in an incomplete condition for years. During 
that period the tall spire was struck three times by light- 
ning, which was considered by some as loud spoken warn- 
ings to the people to complete the Lord's House. Some 
poet, about this time, rhyming on things generally in 
Wilkesbarre, thus notices the church : 

" No lofty towers here in grandeur rise, 
No spires ascending seem to seek the skies, 
Save one that bears aloft the lightning rod, 
To ward the bolts of an avenging God ; 
This rod alone essays his shafts to stay, 
For none within attempt to watch, or pray." 

It was now thought it would be a vain attempt to com- 
plete the work, unless there was a pastor or religious head 
among them, who would devote his time and abilities to 
the undertaking. The congregation accordingly called 
the Rev. Ard Hoyt, who, with ministers of other denomi- 
nations, held religious services in the court-house. Mr. 
Hoyt labored zealously to induce the people, and parti- 
cularly the more wealthy portion of the community, to 
contribute the necessary funds to enable the contractor 
to resume his work, and bring it to completion. But no 
effectual effort was made until 1808, when it was resolved 



282 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



to finish the Lord's house through the instrumentaHty of 
a lottery. Matthias Hollenback, Esq., and twelve other 
commissioners, advertised an "admirable scheme of 3125 
tickets at $8 each." Still the receipts from this source 
were inadequate, and subscriptions were solicited from 
members of all denominations of Christians. 




OLD CHTJBCH, WILKESBAEEE. 



Finally, in the year 1812, after protracted and arduous 
efforts, Mr. Hitchcock was enabled to finish the most 
elegant church in northern Pennsylvania. The bell, 
which was hung in the belfry, and which tolled the 
funeral knell of scores of the old settlers, and of hundreds 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 283 



of their descendants, was manufactured in Philadelphia, 
by George Hedderly, August 6, 1811. Its weight was 
680 pounds. This bell is now on the Presbyterian Church 
in the borough of Pittston. There is inscribed on it the 
Latin words, " Gloria in Excelsis Deo — Fili Dei Miserere" 
and the English sentence, " I will sound and resound unto 
thy people, Lord, to call them to thy word." 

John Miller was the first sexton. He was succeeded 
by John Michael Keinzle, who officiated in that capacity 
for upwards of thirty years. Michael was a native of 
Geneva, in Switzerland, and came to Wilkesbarre about 
the year 1802. After the town was incorporated in 1806, 
Michael was elected high constable, which position he 
held, to the terror of all boys, until the day of his death, 
in 1846. 

He was a small, active, violent-tempered man, and 
when excited by the pranks of mischievous lads, 
flourished his constant companion, a sword-cane, with 
great vigor and dexterity, proclaiming to all within the 
sound of his voice, " I beesh de high* coonstopple of de 
borough. I makes you boys to Squire Dyer, and den I 
makes you to de jail !" Michael was also keeper of the 
town hay-scales at his bachelor residence, in the old store 
and warehouse, on the river bank. He also had charge 
of the town pound. As sexton he was particularly faith- 
ful. He rang the church bell every evening precisely at 
9 o'clock,* and told the day of the month. To exhibit 
his fearlessness and activity, he occasionally ascended to 

* "The curfew tolls the knell of parting day." 
This -was a custom established in England .by William the Conqueror, 
who required the town bell to be rung at 8 o'clock in the evening, as a sig- 
nal for the people to cover their fires (which is the signification of the French 
word curfew), and to retire to rest. This custom was established in Wilkes- 
barre in 1812, and was continued during Michael's life, and for a short time 
after his decease. 



284 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



the lofty spire of the church by the lightning rod, and 
stood on the great ball, appearing to the spectators be- 
neath no larger than General Tom Thumb. 

In 1817, the Rev. Ard Hoyt, notwithstanding the 
membership during his ministration had increased from 
30 to 80, failed to receive a competent support. He 
retired from this field of labor, and became, a missionary 
among the Cherokee Indians. 

From that time until 1821, there was not a settled 
Congregational or Presbyterian clergyman in Luzerne 
county. The shepherdless flocks received occasional 
visits from Connecticut missionaries, and the spirit of 
piety was not suffered to die entirely out. The labors of 
the Rev. H. Taylor were particularly successful. He 
organized the first church in Kingston, in 1818, of which 
he afterwards became the settled pastor. 

In 1821, the Rev. Cyrus Gildersleve was called to the 
churches at Wilkesbarre and Kingston. Desiring to ex- 
tend the borders of the church, he occasionally preached 
to the people in Pittston, Providence, Plymouth, Hanover, 
and Newport. 

In 1829, he was succeeded by the Rev. Nicholas Murray, 
the author of Kirwan Letters. 

About this time a dispute arose between the Presbyte- 
rians and Methodist Episcopalians, respecting the occu- 
pancy of the church in Wilkesbarre, the former asserting 
their exclusive right, and the latter declaring it was a 
Union church, towards the construction of which they 
had liberally contributed. 

"When Greeks joined Greeks, then was the tug of war." 

The Presbyterians held the keys, and the doors were 
locked against the invading Methodists. Committees 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 285 



were appointed by the outs, but the ins refused to confer. 
At length the followers of "Wesley assembled in the court- 
house, and resolved to enter the church at all hazards. 
They, accordingly, with the approval of their pastor, 
the Rev. Morgan Sherman, appointed Joseph Slocum, 
Abraham Thomas, Daniel Collings, and others, a com- 
mittee to storm the Lord's house. Mr. Slocum forced 
the windows with a crowbar, and Mr. Thomas, like 
Sampson at Gaza, lifted the door from its hinges. The 
people entered the building, and, by direction of James 
McClintock, Esq., attorney for the Methodists, broke the 
locks from the pulpit and pew doors. Mr. Sherman then 
approached the sacred desk, and commenced religious 
worship by giving out the hymn commencing, 

"Equip me for the war, 
And teach my hands to fight." 

In his opening prayer the minister thanked the Lord 
for many things, but particularly that they could " wor- 
ship under their own vine and fig tree, few daring to 
molest, and none to make them afraid." At the close of 
his discourse Mr. Sherman said, " With the permission of 
Divine Providence, I will preach in this house again in 
two weeks from to-day." Whereupon Oristus Collins, 
Esq., arose and said, " At that time this church will be 
occupied by another congregation." Mr. Sherman re- 
peated his notice, and Mr. Collins repeated his reply, 
after which the benediction was pronounced, and the con- 
gregation quietly dispersed. 

On another occasion the Methodists entered the church, 
on Sunday morning, in advance of the Presbyterians. 
Just as the Rev. Benjamin Bidlack was about giving out 
the first hymn, Matthias Hollenback, Esq., accompanied 
by the Rev. Mr. Tracy, a Presbyterian clergyman, entered 



286 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



the house, and walking a few steps up the aisle, thus 
addressed the preacher, "What are you doing here?" 
" Page 144, short metre," said Mr. Bidlack. " What is 
that you say ?" inquired Mr. HoUenback. " I say, page 
144, short metre," was the reply. Whereupon Mr. Hol- 
lenback and the Rev. Mr. Tracy retired from the church, 
while Mr. Bidlack proceeded with the religious exercises. 

A full detail of this religious war would be long and 
tedious. It was finally terminated by the sale of the 
Presbyterian interest in the building to the Methodists. 
They occupied it for a number of years, when it was sold 
to a company; and in 1857, it was taken down and 
removed. 

During the ministration of Mr. Murray, from 1829 to 
1833, communicants to the number of 66 were added to 
the church. Besides the change at that time already 
adverted to, from the Congregational to the Presbyterian 
form of church government, his members erected a new 
frame church in Wilkesbarre, and another in Hanover 
township. 

In 1833, the Rev. John Dorrance,^on whom was con- 
ferred the degree of D. D., in 1859, by Princeton College, 
was called to the pastoral charge of the Wilkesbarre con- 
gregation. During his administration, an elegant brick 
church was erected on the site occupied by the old one, 
the number of communicants has increased from 126 
to 307, and the revenue of the charge has advanced from 
hundreds to thousands of dollars annually. 

The names of the gentlemen who have entered the 
ministry of the Presbyterian Church from Wilkesbarre, 
are as follows : 

Rev. Mr. Hoyt ; Jos. H. Jones, D. D. ; Rev. J. S. Hart, 
licentiate, late Principal of Philadelphia High School; 
Rev. John Watters; Rev. Edwin Rheinhart; Rev. John 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 287 



W. Sterling, Prof, in Wisconsin University; Rev. Alex- 
ander Dilly ; Rev. Henry Rinker ; Rev. William E. Baker ; 
Rev. Benj. C. Dorrance, licentiate ; Rev. Mr. Chamberlin ; 
Rev. Zebulon Butler, D. D. ; Rev. John Dorrance, D. D. ; 
Rev. David J. Waller ; Rev. Samuel Helme ; Rev. Henry 
H. Wells ; Rev. John Brown ; Rev. John F. Baker ; Rev. 
Charles J. Collins ; Rev. David Jewett. 

In 1832, the Rev. Alexander Heberton received and 
accepted a call from the congregation at Kingston ; since 
which time that charge has sustained its own pastor, and 
erected a comfortable frame church. 

The congregations in the Lackawanna Valley continued 
to be supplied by missionaries, appointed by the Susque- 
hanna Presbytery, until 1842. At that time the Pittston 
church, called the church of the Lackawanna, was organ- 
ized. Among the missionaries who ministered to the 
spiritual wants of the several congregations in that 
valley, were the Rev. Owen Brown, Rev. Charles Evans, 
and the Rev. N. G. Parke. 

In 1846, the Lackawanna congregation was divided, 
and the Rev. Mr. Parke was called to the church at 
Pittston in 1847, and the Rev. J. D. Mitchell to the 
church at Scranton in 1848. 

Down to the year 1843, Luzerne county was embraced 
in the Susquehanna Presbytery, at which time, by order 
of the General Assembly, the Luzerne Presbytery was 
organized, embracing the counties of Luzerne, Schuylkill, 
and Carbon, and the township of Brier Creek in Columbia 
county. Since then the churches in Tunkhannock, and 
in Northmoreland township, Wyoming county, have been 
added from the Susquehanna Presbytery. The churches 
organized in the county, by authority of the Luzerne 
Presbytery, with the dates of their organization, are as 
follows : 



288 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Wyoming, 

Scranton, 

White Haven, 

Hazleton, 

Scranton (German), 

Plymouth, 

Eckley, 



organized, 



Sept. 21, 1847. 
Oct. 18, 1848. 
Dec. 10, 1850. 
May 8, 1854. 
June 25, 1856. 
Oct. 5, 1856. 
Jan. 24, 1857. 



The following table has been made up from the minutes 
of the General Assembly (Old School) for 1859, and 
exhibits the numerical condition, &c., of the several con- 
gregations in the county. 







No. Com- 




Foreign 


Congre- 


Churches. 


Pastors. 


muni- 


No. S. S. 


and Do- 


gational 






cants. 


Scholars. 


mestic 

Missions. 


purpoees. 


Wilkesbarre . . . 


Jno. Dorrance, D. D. . 


307 


400 


1325 


$1000 


Scranton 








M.J. Hickok, D.D. . 


239 


300 


135 


2200 


Pittston . 










N. G. Parke . . . 


235 


200 


60 


1500 


Newton . 










W. E. Holmes . 




119 


180 


28 




Hazelton . 










Jno. Armstrong 




91 


325 


79 


850 


Conyngham 










Jno. Johnson . 




87 




15 




Kingston 










H. H. Wells . 




54 


100 


100 




Wyoming 










Henry Rinker . 




45 


30 


46 




Plymouth 










E. H. Snowden 




39 




2 


40 


Eckley . 










Jonathan Osmon 




35 


60 


22 


250 


Hanover . 










T. P. Hunt . . 




23 








White Haven 








Jonathan Osmon 




21 


80 


11 


200 


Scranton (German) 




No Report, 
























1295 


1675 


823 


6040 



There are, in the United States, of the Old School 
Presbyterians, 2577 ministers, 3487 churches, 279,630 
communicants, and the entire revenue of the church was 



,835,147. 



NEW SCnOOL PRESBYTERIANS. 



The church in Carbondale was organized in 1829 by 
the Rev. Joel Campbell, who was succeeded by the Rev. 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 289 



T. S. Ward, the present pastor* When the division of 
the church occurred, in 1838, the Carbondale congregation 
united with the New School branch. It has 225 com- 
municants, and, with the churches at Archbald, Provi- 
dence, Hyde Park, Abington, and Dunmore, constitutes 
the greater portion of the Montrose Presbytery. 

The membership of the New School, Cumberland, 
Associate, &c., Presbyterians, in the United States, ex- 
ceeds 350,000. 

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

Methodism originated in a prayer or experience meet- 
ing held in London, in 1739, under the direction of the 
Rev. John Wesley, a minister of the Episcopal or Esta- 
blished Church of England. It was introduced into 
America, by emigrants from Ireland, in 1766, at which 
time the first society was formed in the city of New York, 
by Philip Embury, a local preacher. The following year, 
Captain Webb, of the British army, came to America to 
take command of the military post at Albany, and, having 
professed religion under the preaching of Mr. Wesley in 
England, he joined with Mr. Embury in proclaiming their 
peculiar doctrines to the people of New York, Philadel- 
phia, and other places. The Captain did not neglect his 
military duties, but when the opportunity occurred he was 
ready and willing to preach the gospel. In 1769, Mr. 
Wesley sent two preachers from England to assist in the 
revival of religion in this country, and in 1773 the first 
Methodist Conference was held in Philadelphia, when the 
number of preachers was 10, and the membership 1160. 

The origin of Methodism in Luzerne county was on this 
wise. Prior to 1778, Anning Owen, a blacksmith, erected 
a small log-house and smith-shop, on the great road in 
Kingston, a few rods above the present residence of 

* Died in 1864, and was succeeded by Rev. Oliver Crane. 
19 



290 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Colonel Charles Dorrance. Here Owen toiled at his trade 
until July 3d, 1778, when he shouldered his musket in 
common with his neighbors, and went forth under Butler 
and Denison to encounter the British and Indians. He 
stood his ground bravely, until compelled to give way in 
the general retreat. Flying from the lost field, he found 
himself hotly pursued by a fierce savage, who, with a 
swift foot, was hastening to bury a tomahawk in his brain. 
Eternity seemed near at hand, and he called on his God 
for help and deliverance, vowing, if preserved, to repent 
of his sins and to lead a new life. Redoubling his efforts, 
as if inspired with fresh strength and energy, he escaped 
from his pursuer, and concealed himself in a thicket until 
nightfall. Under cover of darkness, he made good his 
retreat to the fort. Sometime after this, being then in 
the East, he attended a Methodist meeting, where the 
preacher with great zeal and solemnity reasoned of 
righteousness and of a judgment to come. Owen remem- 
bered his vow to God, and his great deliverance : he con- 
fessed his sins, and found mercy through faith in the 
Saviour. His conversion was complete, and he evinced 
great sincerity and earnestness in his efforts to save his own 
soul and the souls of his fellow-men. He received license 
as an exhorter, and afterwards returned to the valley. 
Here, in addition to his weekday labor in the smith-shop, 
he appointed Sunday prayer meetings to be held at his 
own house, w^hen he exhorted the people to seek the 
salvation of their souls. The seed, thus sown by a plain 
and uneducated but pious and zealous blacksmith, took 
root, sprang up, and began to bear fruit. Similar meet- 
ings, at which Mr. Owen exhorted, were held at Jonathan 
Smith's, in Newport ; at the widow Jameson's, in Hano- 
ver ; at Captain John Vaughn's, at Old Forge, in Lacka- 
wanna ; at Lucas', on Ross Hill, in Kingston ; at the 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 291 



widow Coleman's, in Plymouth, and at other places in 
the valley. In 1791, this region of country was taken into 
the Methodist Conference, and attached to the New York 
District, under the name of Wyoming, That district then 
embraced Newburgh, New York, New Rochelle, Long 
Island, and Wyoming. The Rev. Robert Cloud was, that 
year, made presiding elder of the district, and the Rev. 
James Campbell was appointed to the Wyoming Circuit. 
When Mr. Campbell arrived at his new field of the 
itinerancy, he found 100 professors of religion, the fruit 
of the labors of Anning Owen, and of others. A class was 
formed in Hanover, and Stephen Burrett was appointed 
leader. It met once a week, at the house of Aaron 
Hunt. Another was formed, with James Sutton as leader, 
to meet at the house of Captain Vaughn. There was 
also a class in Kingston, one in Plymouth, one in New- 
port, and one in Wilkesbarre. At all of these places Mr. 
Campbell preached, sometimes in private dwellings, some- 
times in barns, and at other times in the open air. One 
of the first Quarterly Meetings was held in a barn, in 
Hanover, belonging to the widow Jameson, and was 
attended by Methodists from Briar Creek, in Columbia, 
then Northumberland county, and from other parts of 
the country thirty and forty miles distant. 

Anning Owen was received into the conference in 1795 
'as a traveling preacher, and was efficient and acceptable 
until 1813, when he became superannuated. 

According to the regulations of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, their preachers itinerate, or pass from one circuit 
to another every year, or every two years. Therefore, in 
1792, Mr. Campbell was succeeded by the Rev. William 
Hardesty. 

In July, 1793, Bishop Asbury visited Wyoming and 
other portions of the district. At a glance his great 



292 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



knowledge of human nature and of the world enabled 
him to comprehend the character of the people, and the 
condition of the country. At the Conference, in August 
following, he appointed the Rev. Valentine Cook, Presid- 
ing Elder, and placed the Rev. William Colbert, and Rev. 
Anthony Turck, on Wyoming circuit. During this con- 
ference year the membership increased from 100 to 183. 
In 1794, James Paynter traveled Wyoming circuit, and 
was succeeded by the Rev. A. White, in 1795, who re- 
mained two years. 

In 1796, a new district, called the Susquehanna dis- 
trict, the Rev. Thomas Ware, P. E., was formed, extend- 
ing from Philadelphia to Western New York, and divided 
into nine circuits. Wyoming was included in it. 

In 1797, the Rev. Roger Benton traveled Wyoming, 
and in 1798 he was followed by the Rev. William Colbert. 
In 1799, the Rev. William M'Lenahan was presiding 
elder, and Wyoming and Northumberland circuits united 
were traveled by the Reverends James Moore, Benjamin 
Bidlack, and David Stevens. 

In 1800, Rev. Joseph Everett was presiding elder, and 
Ephraim Chambers, Edwafd Larkins, and Asa Smith, 
were the preachers. In 1801, Ephraim Chambers and 
Anning Owen, and in 1802 Ephraim Chambers and Wil- 
liam Brandon were the preachers. 

In 1803, James Smith became presiding elder of the 
district, and James Polemus and Hugh McCurdy were 
appointed preachers. 

In 1804, Morris Howe and Robert Burch were the 
preachers, and the Susquehanna district was transferred 
from the Philadelphia to the Baltimore Conference. 
During this year the membership increased from 300 to 
446. About this time, the Presbyterians and Methodists 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 



293 



in Kingston united and built what is now the old church 
at Forty Fort. 

This was the first finished church in the county in 
which religious services were held ; for though the church 
in Hanover, erected by the Paxton Presbyterians, was 
commenced before this, yet it was never completed. • 

In 1805, Anning Owen was presiding elder, and James 
Paynter and Joseph Carson were the preachers. 






-[> 



s.iijSS^-' 










OLD CHURCH, FORTY FORT. 



In 1806, Christopher Frye and Alfred Griffith traveled 
Wyoming circuit, and the number of members was 523. 
Gideon Draper and William Butler were the preachers 
in 1807. In 1808, the Susquehanna district was again 
placed under the jurisdiction of the Philadelphia confer- 
ence, James Herron became presiding elder, and the tra- 
veling preachers for Wyoming were James Reily and 
Henry Montooth. The next year, 1809, Gideon Draper 
was presiding elder, and George Lane and Abraham 
Dawson were the traveling preachers. During this year 



294 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



the first camp-meeting in Luzerne county was held near 
the village of Wyoming. A rough board stand was con- 
structed, which was occupied by the preachers during 
Divine service, and a circle of tents was formed round 
about, composed of wagon and bed covers stretched over 
hooped saplings. The floors of the tents were the bare 
ground concealed by a sprinkling of straw, while the 
beautiful green foliage of the forest was spread out above 
them. Multitudes of people collected from far and near, 
attracted, many by novelty, and some by a desire to do 
good and to get good. The sermons preached were 
delivered with astonishing energy and feeling. The 
tremendous emotions of the speaker were communicated 
to his audience, and an excitement was produced of which 
we in this day can have but a faint conception. The 
cries of the penitent, and the shouts of rejoicing Chris- 
tians, mingled with the deep tones of the preacher, pro- 
duced a marked effect even on the most obdurate infidel. 
At some of these meetings, strong men, pale and trembling, 
fell to the earth, imploring mercy. Great congregations 
of men and women, moved by some strong sensation, 
sudden and powerful as the electric shock, seemed struck 
with consternation. Crowding thousands hung in breath- 
less silence on the lips of the impassioned orator. No 
sound would be heard save the thrilling tones of the elo- 
quent appeal, when suddenly a cry, bursting from the 
agony of an alarmed soul, would send dismay and terror 
and conviction to the hearts of hundreds. The preacher 
ceased, his voice was drowned in the tumult, for there 
were cries, and sobs, and tears, and shoutings all around 
him. 

The infidel doctrines of the French Revolution had 
swept over America, producing a most disastrous effect on 
the religious sentiment of the country. During our own 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 295 



Revolution, and for a few years after, great efforts were 
made to further the cause of religion here, and with 
encouraging success. But when France overturned her 
monarchy, and with it her altars of religion, the people 
of the United States, while sympathizing, with her in her 
struggle for liberty, imbibed her atheistical notions. In 
the eighteen years from the time the first Methodist con- 
ference was held in 1773, to 1791, the membership of 
that church had increased from 1100 to 76,000. But the 
pernicious doctrines of the French philosophers having 
become widely disseminated, there was no longer an 
increase ; the membership even grew less, so that ten 
years afterwards, in 1801, there were but 72,000 church 
members. But about this time a great revival of religion 
commenced in America, and at the end of the next ten 
years, 1811, the membershij) numbered 184,000, being 
an increase, since 1801, of 112,000. One of the most 
efficient agencies in bringing about this great result was 
camp-meetings. Almost immediately on their general 
introduction, tens of thousands were annually added to 
the church, and the doctrines of Jesus Christ soon became 
far more popular than the infidel sentiments of the French 
revolutionists. Camp-meetings are said to have had their 
origin on this wise: In 1799, two brothers, John and 
William McGee, the former a Methodist, and the latter a 
Presbyterian minister, were traveling together in Ken- 
tucky. Having reached a point on Red river, they tarried 
by invitation of the Rev. Mr. McGeady, and participated 
in the sacramental services of his church on the following 
day. John McGee preached, and was followed by the 
Rev. Mr. Hoge, a Presbyterian minister, who preached 
with great power ; so much so, that a good woman in the 
congregation shouted aloud in praising God. A great 
revival of religion was the result of this effort, and the 



296 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



people gathered in such numbers that the meeting was 
protracted and removed to a grove. Tents were erected, 
household utensils and provisions were procured, and 
here for several days the Presbyterians, in union with the 
Methodists, held the first camp-meeting in America, of 
which there is any record. These union camj)-meetings 
were continued for two or three years, and resulted in a 
secession from the Presbyterian Church of those members 
who took the name of Cumberland Presbyterians. 

In 1810, Thomas Wright and Elijah Metcalf succeeded 
Messrs. Lane and Dawson on the Wyoming Circuit, and 
these were followed in 1811 by Noah Bidgelow and 
William Brown. In 1810, the Genesee Conference was 
formed, comprehending the Susquehanna District within 
its bounds, and a number of new circuits were carved out 
of the larger ones, so that the membership of Wyoming 
that year was reduced to 363. 

In 1812, George Harmon became presiding elder of 
the district, and John Kimberlin and Elisha Bebins were 
appointed traveling preachers for Wyoming Circuit. In 
the following year, 1813, the proportions of this circuit 
were further curtailed, so that only one preacher, Mar- 
maduke Pearce, was appointed to minister to the spiritual 
necessities of the people. He was followed, in 1814, by 
Benjamin G. Paddock. In 1815, Marmaduke Pearce was 
made presiding elder of the district, and George W. Dens- 
more was placed on Wyoming Circuit, who was succeeded 
by Elias Bowen, who remained here two years — 1816 and 
1817. George Peck was the preacher in 1818, and he 
was followed in 1819 by Marmaduke Pearce, who had 
been presiding elder of the district for the preceding four 
years. George Lane succeeded Mr. Pearce in the presid- 
ing eldership, and in 1820 Elisha Bebins was the traveling 
preacher. In 1821 EHsha Bebins was continued, assisted 



RELIGIOUS D:pNOMINATIONS. 297 



by John Layer. In 1822, the preachers were J. D. Gil- 
bert and W. W. Rundel, and these were followed in 1823 
by George Lane and Gaylord Judd, Fitch Reed being 
presiding elder. George Peck became presiding elder in 
1824, and Morgan Sherman and Joseph Castle were the 
preachers of the circuit. These last were succeeded in 
1825 by John Copeland and Philo Barbery. During 
1826, 1827, 1828, Horace Agard was presiding elder, 
and the preachers for those years were George Peck and 
Philo Barbfery, S. Stocking and Miles H. Gaylord, Joseph 
Castle and Silas Comfort. In 1827, the Genesee Confer- 
ence was held in Wilkesbarre. In 1829, the Oneida Con- 
ference was organized, and Wilkesbarre became a station 
in the following year. In 1852, the Wyoming Confer- 
ence was formed, which does not embrace one-third more 
territory than did the Old Wyoming Circuit 60 years ago. 
The great body of the early Methodist preachers w^ere 
plain, uneducated men, who had come immediately from 
the masses of the people. They were acquainted with 
the views and feelings of their congregations, and their 
sermons were adapted to people like themselves. The 
itinerating system brought them in contact with an im- 
mense variety of character, imparting a most valuable 
knowledge of human nature, while their extensive cir- 
cuits furnished sufficient of exercise to develope and 
strengthen the physical powers, and to give robust con- 
stitutions. They were pious, earnest men, imbued with 
a deep sense of their responsibility, and with a solemn 
concern for the souls of their fellow-men. They did not 
confine their ministrations to the highways and to the 
densely populated districts, but they penetrated along the 
by-paths into the secluded valleys, and among the moun- 
tains. They preached in school-houses, in private dwell- 
ings, in barns, and in the open air, once every work-day 



298 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



in the week, and twice or thrice on Sunday. They went 
into the new settlements, preached, reached the hearts of 
their hearers, formed classes, enjoined on them to read 
the Word of God, to meet often for prayer, and " gave 
out" that at such a time, the Lord willing, they would 
be along again. Wherever they went the people received 
them gladly, for, apart from their sacred office, they were 
a most interesting class of men, who possessed an immense 
fund of information, gathered in their travels from obser- 
vation and from the conversation of others. Still, theirs 
was a life of hardships. The country was a wilderness, 
the roads were generally in a most wretched condition, 
and the people were poor. Their annual salary was $64, 
and traveling expenses, and none but most devout Chris- 
tians, who looked to a future state of happiness as the 
only thing worth striving for, could have been so indefati- 
gable in their labors, and so self-sacrificing in their lives. 
They and their flocks have almost all gone to that great 
undiscovered country for which they made such earnest 
preparation. 

But they have left a wonderful monument of their 
labors and self-denial behind them. On the foundation 
they laid, and on the structure they raised, a vast multi- 
tude of busy hands have been engaged since their de- 
parture, and that grand Monument is rising higher and 
higher towards the heavens, and attracting more and 
more the attention of mankind. That was but a small 
beginning in 1773, when ten preachers, being the entire 
Methodist ministry, assembled in the first Conference at 
Philadelphia. At the commencement of the present cen- 
tury, after struggling through the demoralizing influences 
of the American and French Revolutions, the number of 
ministers was 287, and the membership 64,894. But 
mark the rapid increase during the next few years. In 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 



299 



1813 the ministry numbered 678, and the membership 
214,307. 

This year (1859) the Church North numbers 956,555 
members, and the Church South 699,194, making a total 
membership in the United States of 1,655,749.* The 
traveling preachers number 9273, and the local preachers 
12,514. The total annual revenue of the Church was 
12,856,235. 

Luzerne county is divided between the Wyoming and 
Baltimore Conferences. The latter embraces Hunting- 
ton, Salem, Fairmount, Union, Nescopeck, Black Creek, 
and one or two townships in the south-west, composing 
the two circuits of Bloomingdale and Luzerne. 

The following table exhibits the number of members, 
Sunday-school scholars, preachers' salaries, &c., in Lu- 
zerne county, in the year 1859 : 









Foreign 


Salaries 


Amount 






Sunday- 


and Do- 


of 


paid Pre- 


stations and Circuits. 


Members 


School 


mestic 


Preach- 


siding 






Scliolars. 


Missions. 


ers. 


Elder. 


Wilkesbarre 


257 


280 


$105 


$600 


$100 


Woodville . 












130 


180 


. 20 


510 


40 


Plains . 












78 


125 


56 


430 


35 


Wyoming 












78 


150 


100 


515 


50 


Kingston 












114 


180 


22 


426 


40 


Plymouth 












85 


175 




500 


25 


Trucksville 












230 


225 


80 


490 


40 


Lehman 












190 


100 


15 


460 


35 


Pittston 












120 


225 


200 


725 


60 


Providence 












95 


80 


26 


590 


■ 40 


Scranton 












117 


250 


114 


700 


50 


Lackawanna 












89 


268 


45 


400 


36 


Abington 












156 


125 


40 


420 


50 


Newton 












202 


200 


10 


298 


•40 


Newport 












75 


175 


52 


344 


24 


Carbondale 












120 


150 


95 


650 


50 


Blakely 












48 


30 


25 


400 


50 


Moscow 












100 


100 


27 


312 


50 


Luzerne 












198 


150 


45 


475 


40 


Huntington 












250 


275 


100 


525 


50 




2732 


3443 


1177 


9770 


905 



300 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



About one-third of the above are circuits containing 
from six to twelve appointments. Donations are included 
in these salaries of the preachers. The number of volumes 
in the Sunday-schools is 11,762, and the value of church 
property in the county is $117,200. 

THE BAPTIST CHURCH. 

The first Associated Baptist church was organized, in 
England, in the city of London, in the year 1633. The 
Rev. Roger Williams formed the first Baptist congrega- 
tion in America at Providence, Rhode Island, in 1639. 
Roger Williams was a graduate of Oxford College, and a 
minister of the Church of England. He emigrated to 
America in 1631, and took charge of a Puritan church 
in New England, but, owing to his liberal religious and 
political views, he became involved in difficulties with 
the authorities, by whom he was banished from the colony. 
He, with a number of followers, retired to the wilds of 
Rhode Island, where he laid the foundations of the city 
of Providence, and having embraced the Baptist faith, 
may be considered the father of that Church in America. 
The government of the Baptist Church is purely congre- 
gational, the Associations having no power whatever over 
the congregations. 

The Baptists commenced their career in Pennsylvania 
in 1698, by meeting in the warehouse of the old " Barba- 
does Trading Company," in the city of Philadelphia. The 
Rev. John Watts was their clergyman. As early as 1773 
there were Baptists in Kingston township of this county, 
whose pastor was the Rev. Mr. Gray. Some years after 
this, in 1786, Mr. Gray made special efforts in Pittston 
township, and in the fall of that year a congregation was 
organized there by the Rev. James Benedict. In 1787 
this congreofation was attached to the Philadelphia Asso- 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 301 



elation. Mr. Benedict was succeeded by the Rev. James 
Finn, and he by the Rev. William Bishop, who settled 
in Luzerne county in 1794. Mr. Bishop was born in 
1749 in England, where he professed to find grace and 
entered the ministry. Emigrating to America, with the 
pure spirit of a pioneer preacher he pushed into the wilder- 
ness. He came to the Lackawanna Valley and erected his 
log-house on the site now occupied by the residence of 
William Merrifield, Esq., in Hyde Park. He remained 
there until 1811, when he removed to Scott township, 
where he died in 1816. Mr. Bishop was a zealous and 
successful preacher, and proclaimed the peculiar doctrine 
of his church throughout the Lackawanna and Wyoming 
Valleys, and in other sections of the country, for many 
years. 

In 1790 the Rev. Samuel Sturdevant emigrated from 
Danbury, Connecticut, and settled in Braintrim, now 
Wyoming county. Soon after, he commenced to gather 
a congregation in that region. He was a large muscular 
man, preached with great earnestness, and, leading a 
most upright and exemplary life, commanded the respect 
of all who knew him. David Stafford, writing to the 
author, says, " I am ninety-two years of age, and was 
baptized in the Susquehanna river by the Rev. Samuel 
Sturdevant sixty-seven years ago." 

In 1790 the Rev. Jacob Drake and the Rev. Roswell 
Goff emigrated to Luzerne from New England. They, 
in connection with Messrs. Sturdevant and Bishop, to- 
gether with others, preached in Wilkesbarre, Plymouth, 
at Captain Daniel Gore's in Pittston, and at other places, 
as best they could, in a country destitute of churches, and 
impoverished by foreign war and domestic conflicts. 

In 1794 Griffin Lewis came to Plymouth from Exeter 
in Rliode Island, and in 1799 he married Hannah, the 



302 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



daughter of Elder Joel Rogers. Messrs. Gray, Benedict, 
and Finn had gathered a small congregation at Plymouth 
in 1787, and among those baptized were Joel and Jonah 
Rogers, both of whom became elders in the church. 
They, with Mr. Drake, and Mr. Lewis who was ordained 
minister in 1802, laid the foundation of the Baptist 
Church in Huntington, Jackson, Union, and Lehman 
townships, and indeed in the whole western portion of 
the county. This is the Jonah Rogers who was captured 
by the savages, and is the " Bugle Boy" of Mr. McCoy's 
" Frontier Maid." He had participated in the early trials 
and dangers of the first settlers, and was esteemed a 
valuable citizen ; and when, in after life, he espoused the 
Christian faith, and exhorted the people to believe and 
be baptized, his exhortation fell with great force on the 
ears of the people. Like Anning Owen and Benjamin 
Bidlack, of the Methodist Church, he had stood shoulder 
to shoulder, with those to whom he preached, in defence 
of their homes ; and now, when he spoke to them of the 
good things of the world to come, his words, plain and 
simple, were those of a companion in arms, and reached 
the hearts of his hearers. 

In 1802, the Rev. John Miller, who was born in 
Windham county, Conn., settled in Abington, where he 
gathered a congregation about him, and over which he 
presided as pastor until 1853. His continuance as cler- 
gyman to the same congregation for the extraordinary 
period of fifty-one years, is the highest eulogium that can 
be pronounced on his character. During his ministerial 
life in Luzerne, he baptized by immersion 2000 persons, 
married 912 couples, and preached 1800 funeral sermons. 
He died in 1857, a true servant of God, and beloved and 
venerated of men. 

Two churches had been organized in Wayne county, 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 303 



one at Palmyra in 1801, and one at Mount Pleasant in 
1807. Pursuant to previous arrangement, delegates from 
these congregations met similar delegates from the Abing- 
ton church at the log dwelling-house of Elder Miller, on 
the 26th day of December, 1807. At this time and place 
the Abington Baptist Association was formed. The dele- 
gates for Palmyra were the Rev. Elijah Purdy and Wil- 
liam Purdy, Jr. ; for Mount Pleasant, Rev. Epaphras 
Thompson, Rev. Elijah Peck, and Samuel Torey; for 
Abington, Rev. John Miller, William Clark, Jesse Hulse, 
Roger Ormis, Jonathan Dean, and Nathaniel Giddings. 
The Rev. Mr. Thompson was constituted Moderator, and 
Mr. Nathaniel Giddings was made clerk. The Rev. 
Samuel Sturdevant, Rev. Davis Dimock, and Joel Rogers, 
licentiate from Exeter, were also present, and took seats 
in the association. The sermon was preached by the Rev. 
Mr. Peck. 

The Wyoming Baptist Association was organized at 
Lehman Church, in Lehman township, in 1843, through 
the instrumentality of Davis Dimock, Rev. D. Gray, and 
others, and within the limits of this and that of Abington 
are embraced all the churches of that persuasion in Lu- 
zerne county. 

Wilkesbarre and the vicinity were missionary ground 
many years ago, and the ministers of this church preached 
in the Court-house, though they were sometimes allowed 
the use of the " Old Ship of Zion." In 1842 the Baptist 
church in Wilkesbarre was constituted by the Rev. A. L. 
Past. The present brick edifice, on Northampton street, 
was built in 1847. 

The increase of the Baptists in America has been won- 
derful, paralleled only by the Methodists. In the year 
1784 they had 424 ministers and 35,101 members. In 
1790-92, they had increased to 891 ministers and 65,845 



304 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



members, more than doubling their ministry and almost 
their membership in the space of seven years. On ac- 
count of the infidel sentiments of the French philosophers, 
before alluded to, disseminated in this country, it was 
more than twenty years before their ministry was again 
doubled, though in 1810-12, they had 1605 ministers, 
and 172,972 members. In 1851, they had 578 associa- 
tions, 10,441 churches, and 754,652 members. These are 
the regular Baptists, but there are several minor bodies 
in the United States whose aggregate membership must 
number hundreds of thousands. They are known by the 
names of Freewill, Seventh-day, Campbellites, who are 
also called Disciples of Christ, or Reformers, Six Princi- 
ple, Menonites (German), Anti-Mission, Church of God, 
and Christian Baptists. 

The following table will exhibit the condition of the 
Baptist Church in Luzerne county, for the year 1859 : — 



Churches. 


Pastors. 


Members 


Abington 1st 


C. A. Fox . 


178 


Abington Valley 








T. J. Cole . 








36 


Benton 








T. J. Cole . 








90 


Cai'bondale 










E. L. Bailey . 








. 72 


Blakeley . 










No Pastor 








42 


Covington . 














I 


^0 


report. 


Hyde Park 










W. K. Mott . 








66 


Mount Bethel 










Charles Parker 








64 


Newton 










J. C. Sherman 








30 


Seott Valley 










Benj. Miller . 








81 


Exeter 










No pastor 








32 


Jackson . 










James Clark . 








12.5 


Lehman . 










G. W. Scofield 








55 


Pitts ton . 










W. K. Mott . 








80 


Union 










James Clark . 








173 


Wilkesbarre 










E. M. Alden . 








60 


Kingston . 










W. K. Mott . 








26 


Lake 










G. W. Scofield 








23 




















1223 



We are unable to obtain the number of Sunday-school 



EELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 30{ 



scholars attached to the respective churches, as well as 
the salaries of the ministers, and the amount contributed 
for benevolent objects outside of the churches. We, how- 
ever, estimate the Sunday-school scholars at 1100, and 
the church property at $30,000. 

LUTHERAN AND GERMAN REFORMED CHURCHES. 

The earliest settlement of Lutherans in this country, 
was made soon after the establishment of the Dutch in 
the city of New York, then called New Amsterdam, 
which was in 1621. As early as 1643, Swedish Lutherans 
settled within the limits of Pennsylvania, whose pastor 
was John Campanius Holm. In 1677, Jacob Fabritius 
preached his first sermon in the Swedes Church at Wicaco, 
where he officiated fourteen years, nine of which he was 
blind. About the year 1710, a great number of German 
Lutherans came to America, and settled in Pennsylvania, 
although many had emigrated here before that. Tlie 
Swedish ministers kindly served the German Lutherans 
until the arrival of the Patriarch of American Lutheran- 
ism, the Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, v/ho landed 
in Philadelphia, November 28th, 1742. The first synod 
was organized in Philadelphia, August 14th, 1748, when 
there were only 11 regular Lutheran ministers in the 
colonies, and at this Synodical Convention only 6 clergy- 
men were in attendance. From the minutes of the Gene- 
ral Synod of this church for 1859, we learn there were 
764 ministers, and a communing membership of 153,521 
in the United States. There are other bodies of Lutherans 
in this country not connected with the Evangelical Lu- 
theran Church. 

The German Reformed Church in the United States is 
a counterpart of the Reformed or Calvinistic Church of 
Germany. They, with the Lutherans, came over and 

20 



306 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



settled in this state at an early day. Application was. 
made to the Mother Church in 1746, for a pastor by mem- 
bers in Pennsylvania, and the Rev. Michael Schlatter 
was sent over to gather the scattered flock, and to organ- 
ize churches. The number of communicants in this 
church in the United States is about 100,000. At one 
time, the difference between the Lutheran and German 
Reformed churches was very slight, and in 1822 an entire 
union of the two was proposed, but adverse circumstances 
defeated the plan. 

From 1790 to 1800, ministers of the German Reformed 
Church from Northampton county occasionally visited 
the south-eastern portion of Luzerne, now Sugarloaf, But- 
ler, and Foster townships, which were settled principally 
by Germans. In 1800, an energetic preacher of this per- 
suasion, the Rev. John Mann, came to Sugarloaf; and 
during the same year, through his exertions, a building 
was erected for religious and school purposes. Mr. Mann 
was succeeded in 1804, by the Rev. T. Klenner, a Lu- 
theran minister. The Rev. F. W. Vandersloot followed 
Mr. Klenner in 1809. In 1811, under the administration 
of the Rev. Thomas Pomp, the Lutheran and German 
Reformed congregations united and erected a comfortable 
church in Nescopeck. The present membership worship- 
ping there is, Lutherans 140, German Reformed 25. From 
1812 to 1817, the Sugarloaf congregation was supplied by 
the Revs. F. C. Krole, J. E. Braumzious, and Peter Hall. 
In the latter year the Lutherans, under the charge of the 
Rev. C. C. Shafer, erected a church at Wapwallopen, the 
present membership of which is 70. A German Reformed 
congregation also, which numbers 52 members, occupies 
the same building. In 1820, the Rev. John N. Zeiger 
was called to the Sugarloaf congregation, who extended 
his ministerial labors as far west as Salem township, 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 307 



where, in conjunction with the Rev. Peter Kesler, a 
Lutheran minister, he brought about the erection of what 
is called the " Old Stone Church." At present, it has a 
Lutheran membership of 56, and a German Reformed 
of 25. Mr. Zeiger about the same time organized a con- 
gregation in the Sweitz, in Hollenback township, where 
a neat and commodious church was built by the members 
of the two sects. The number of its present members 
is 75 Lutherans, and 26 German Reformed. The Rev. 
Isaiah Bahl, of the Lutheran Church, is the present 
pastor.^ 

In 1823, the Rev. J. Beninger organized a church in 
Black Creek township, the present membership of which 
is Lutherans 31, German Reformed 24. 

On the 4th of May, 1826, during the ministrations of 
the Revs. Mr. Zeiger and Mr. George Eyster, the two 
congregations in Sugarloaf township laid the corner-stone 
of St. John's Church, now in Butler township ; and 
during the same year, another edifice for religious wor- 
ship was raised in Conyngham. In 1841, a free or Union 
church was erected at Drum's; but since 1858, it has 
been occupied chiefly by the Lutherans and German Re- 
formed members. 

The German Reformed church in Hanover, near the 
site of the old Presbyterian church erected by the Paxton 
settlers, was built in 1825. 

Besides the ministers already named, we may mention 
the Revs. J. F. Shindle, J. Shellhamer, Farets, and Sey- 
bert, who have officiated in these churches, and who will 
long be remembered for their pastoral care by an honest 
and most worthy people. 

Within twenty years past, one Lutheran and one Ger- 
man Reformed church have been erected in Wilkesbarre ; 
one German Reformed in Blakelv. and one Lutheran in 



308 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Ransom township. The whole number of Lutheran 
churches is 12, and German Reformed 5. The Lutheran 
membership* is 1000, and that of the German Reformed 
300. The Lutheran congregations are generally under 
the charge of the Rev. W. R. S. Haskarl of Conyngham, 
the Rev. H. Vosseler of Wilkesbarre, and the Rev. Isaiah 
Bahl of Berwick. Mr. Bahl entered the ministry in 1825 ; 
soon after which he commenced his pastoral labors in 
Luzerne and Columbia counties. He has married 2200 
couples, and preached as many funeral sermons. The 
German Reformed churches are principally under the 
pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Hoffman, and the Rev. Mr. 
Strassner.^ 

THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States 
is the offspring of the Church of England. Long prior 
to the Revolutionary War, it was the established religion 
of one or more of the colonies. The Revolution separated 
us from the civil power of the mother country, and our 
own constitutions guaranty freedom of religious faith 
and worship. To meet the state of things brought about 
by the independence of this country, preliminary steps 
were taken in 1784 to form a separate and self-sustaining 
organization. On the 13th and 14th of May of that year, 
a number of clergymen from New York, New Jersey, and 
Pennsylvania, convened at New Brunswick, N. J., for the 
purpose of adopting measures for the relief of the widows 
and children of deceased clergymen. At this meeting it 
was proposed to hold a convention at New York in the 
following October, at w^hich time and place a plan for the 
new organization was pre23ared to be submitted to an- 
other convention to assemble at Philadelphia, on the 
27th of October, 1785. At this last convention, delegates 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 309 



appeared from seven of the thirteen states. The Book of 
Common Prayer was revised and altered, and an Ecclesi- 
astical Constitution was formed. In December, 1786, the 
Rev. William White, D. D., of Philadelphia, and the Rev. 
Samuel Provost, D. D., of New York, embarked for Eng- 
land, having been chosen and recommended by the new 
church organization as candidates for the episcopal office. 
After a voyage of seventeen days from New York, they 
arrived in London; and on the 4th of February, 1787, 
were ordained and consecrated bishops by the Most Rev. 
John Moore, Archbishop of Canterbury. The Rev. James 
Madison, D. D., of Virginia, was afterwards ordained and 
consecrated a bishop in England ; and he, with the other 
two before mentioned, ordained and consecrated T. J. 
Claggett bishop of the Church in Maryland, who was the 
first ever consecrated in the United States. 

According to the Report of the Triennnial Convention 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church, held in 1856, its com- 
municants were 119,540, and its clergymen were 1828. 
The church contributions for that year were $2,402,833. 
In 1859, there were 12,815 communicants, 161 clergy- 
men, and 16,891 Sunday-school scholars in the state of 
Pennsylvania. 

In 1814, the Associated Missionary Society of Christ 
Church, St. Peter's, and St, James', in the city of Phila- 
delphia, united with Bishop White in requesting the 
Rev. Jackson Kemper, now bishop of Wisconsin, to visit 
Wilkesbarre, and collect the members of the church in 
that place and its vicinity. He complied with the 
request, and, preparing the way for a church organiza- 
tion, was succeeded by the Rev. Richard Mason, now Dr. 
Mason of North Carolina. Mr. Mason was the first 
settled Episcopal clergyman in Luzerne county. After 
Mr. Mason, the Rev. Mr. Phinney officiated as pastor for 



310 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



a short time, when the congregation was placed under the 
charge of the Rev. Mr. Roach, missionary, who established 
the first Sunday-school here. In 1817, St. Stephen's 
Church, in Wilkesbarre, was chartered. It was completed 
in 1822, and consecrated by Bishop White in 1823, at 
which time there were 42 communicants. During this 
year the Rev. Mr. Sitgreaves was called to the pastoral 
charge of the congregation, and in 1824 he was succeeded 
by the Rev. Enoch Huntington. Mr. Huntington was 
followed in 1827 by the Rev. James May, late Dr. May, 
of Georgetown, D. C, who continued pastor here until 
1836. For the next twelve years the pulpit of St. 
Stephen's was occupied by the Rev. W. J. Clark, Rev. R. 
B. Claxton, and Rev. C. D. Cooper. In 1848, the Rev. 
George D. Miles received a call, who has continued pastor 
to the present time. 

Until 1845, the pastors of St. Stephen's, and occasion- 
ally visiting clergymen, and also missionaries, preached 
at Carbondale, but in that year Trinity Church was 
organized in that place. St. James was organized in 
Pittston, in 1852 ; St. Luke, in Scranton, in 1853 ; St. 
James, in Eckley, in 1858; since which periods these 
several churches have called and sustained their own 
pastors. 

From St. Stephen's, the following named persons have 
entered the ministry : Samuel Bowman, D. D., late bishop 
of Pennsylvania, George C. Drake, Alexander Shiras, H. 
M. Denison, D. C. Loup, and J. L. Maxwell. 

The following statistical table shows the condition of 
this church in Luzerne county for the year 1859 : 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 



311 



Churches. 


Location. 


No. of Sunday , Collec 
Clergymen. ; Commu- School ■ tions. 
1 nicants. Scholars. 


Salary. 


St. Stephen's . 
St. Peter's . . 
St. Luke's . . 
Trinity . . . 
St. James' . . 
St. James' . . 


Wilkesbarre 
Plymouth . 
Scranton 
Carbondale . 
Pittston . . 
Eckley . . 


Geo. D. Miles 
Geo. D. Miles 
W.C.Robinson 
Thomas Drum 
J. A. Jerome 
P. Russell . 


I 125 ' 360 

71 80 

43 1 95 
35 ! 150 
24 ; 


11270 $1000 

183 ' 600 

198 i 450 

1817 'C=^r 

23 1 600 




298 1 685 


3491 ! 2650 

1 



THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

The Roman Catholics first came to the British Colonies, 
and made a permanent settlement in Maryland, under 
Lord Baltimore, in 1634, but it was not until 1789 that 
the arch-diocese of Baltimore was formed into a bishopric, 
under authority of a bull from Pope Pius VI. In 1808, 
it was erected into a Metropolitan See by a brief from 
Pius VII., and since that date, and indeed for years be- 
fore, Baltimore has been considered the head-quarters of 
Romanism in this country. 

It is difficult to ascertain the number of communicants 
in the church in the United States, from the fact that 
they number by families, each member of which above 
the age of twelve years may receive the sacrament. In 
1854, they had 1245 churches, 1203 clergymen, 28 insti- 
tutions of ecclesiastical education, 223 educational insti- 
tutions, 108 charitable institutions, and 1,334,500 Catholic 
population. 

Luzerne county is embraced iji the Catholic diocese 
of Philadelphia, which comprehends within its bounds 
Philadelphia city, all of North Eastern Pennsylvania, and 
a portion of Delaware. It was under the superintend- 



012 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



ence of Bishop John N. Neumann, lately deceased, assisted 
by Bishop Wood. The diocese contains 147 churches, 
155 clergymen, and a Catholic population of 175,000. 

About the year 1828, the Rev. John O'Flynn came to 
Luzerne, and, traveling from place to place, visited and 
served the scattered members of the church. He was 
succeeded in 1831 by the Rev. William Glancy, who re- 
sided in Carbondale. Here, during his administration, 
the first Roman church was erected, in^l832, which has 
since been replaced by a new building. ^ J^. Glancy was 
followed in 1836 by the Rev. Henry Fitzsimons, who itine- 
rated throughout the county until 1847, when churches 
began generally to be built, and ministers to be settled. 
The churches in the county, at present, are the church 
at Dunmore, erected in 1835, Rev. E. Fitzmaurice, minis- 
ter; the new church at Carbondale, erected in 1840, Rev. 
F. Carew, minister ; first church at Scranton, erected in 
1846, and second church, erected in 1853, Rev. Moses 
Whetty, minister; first church at Pittston, 1849, Rev. 
John Finnan, second church, 1855, Rev. J. 0. Shaugh- 
nessy ; at Archibald, erected in 1850, Rev. P. McSwiggen; 
at Hazelton, erected in 1855, Rev. M. L. Scanlan, minis- 
ter; at Jeansville, erected in 1855, Rev. M. L. Scanlan, 
minister; at Wilkesbarre, erected in 1856, Rev. Henry 
Fitzsimons, minister, and also a German church, erected 
there in 1857. 

Religious services are held also at White Haven, Nan- 
ticoke, Plymouth, and at other places in the county, but 
no churches have yet been built at these points. Con- 
nected with each church is a Sunday-school, whose 
scholars amount to about 900. The number of commu- 
nicants is reckoned at 2500, and the Rev. Mr. Fitzsimons 
estimates the Catholic population of the county at 6600. 



BELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 313 



MINOR CHURCHES. 



In addition to the denominations of Christians already 
treated of, there are minor sects in our county whose 
church edifices number 14. The Christians have 4 
churches ; one in Plymouth, one in Madison, one in Jack- 
son, and one in Providence township, and the total mem- 
bership of these is about 160. The first church of this 
denomination in the United States was erected in 1800, 
and its first society, in Luzerne, was organized about 30 
years ago. 

The Welsh Presbyterians have 3 churches, one in Hyde 
Park, one in Carbondale, and one in Pittston, whose united 
membership is probably 100. The Albright or German 
Methodists have 2 churches; one in Woodville, and one 
in Hollenback township. 

The Wesleyan Methodists have 1 church, which is in 
Carbondale. The Welsh Wesleyan Methodists have 1 
church, which was erected, in Springbrook township, in 
1839. 

The Welsh Methodists have 1 church, which is located 
in Providence. 

The Protestant Methodists have erected 1 church in 
Huntington township. This body separated from the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, about the year 1826, on 
account of a disagreement about church government. 

Prior to the yeSbV 1840, a number of Jews, the principal 
of whom was Martin Long, settled in Wilkesbarre, and 
in 1848 erected and dedicated a commodious brick syna- 
gogue. Moses Straser was their first minister. They 
have 35 contributing families, and 50 Sunday-school 
scholars. The salary of their minister is $600 per 
annum. At Scranton the Jews have 12 contributing 



314 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTr. 



families, and hold service in a rented room, but contem- 
plate the erection of a synagogue. 

In 1842, the Rev. Thomas Jackson came to Wilkes- 
barre, and collected the scattered remains of a colored 
congregation, which, on his departure, relapsed into its 
former condition. It was revived in 1845, through the 
ministerial labors of the Rev. Philip Lumb, and the 
Rev. Peter Fulmer. At this time the congregation was 
attached to the Reading Conference, and the church 
which they had built, on the hill, was named the Zion 
Church of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Connection. 
In 1856, they enlarged the old church, now numbering 
62 members, who are under the pastoral charge of the 
Rev. John Anderson. 

The Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Congregation 
in Wilkesbarre, was organized in 1848, by the Rev. 
Thomas Ward, since which they have erected a comfort- 
able frame building for worship. They have 27 mem- 
bers, for whom the Rev. Theodore Gould officiates as 
pastor. 

At Waverly, also, there is a colored church with about 
35 members. 

THE MORMONS. 

Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, lived, at 
one time, within the bounds of Luzerne county, on the 
Tunkhannock Creek, now in Wyoming county. In 
1837, thirteen families in that neighborhood departed for 
the promised land, then in the state of Missouri. A boat, 
similar in construction to a section boat, was built by 
them and freighted with men, women, children, and 
household goods. During a freshet it was floated down 
the Tunkhannock Creek, near to the village of that 
name, and thence it was borne on the Susquehanna to 



RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. 



315 



the Nanticoke dam, where it entered the canal. It pro- 
ceeded to Pittsburgh, where it passed mto the Ohio, and 
was towed by a steamer to St. Louis. Thus, Luzerne 
has contributed her mite to swell the growing church of 
the Latter Day Saints. 

RECAPITULATION. 

A table showing the number of ministers, churches, 
members, Sunday-school scholars, and the value of church 
property of the religious denominations in the county, for 
the year 1859. 



Denominations. 



No. of Sunday I Value of 

Minis- Churcli- School Members Church 
ters. j es. Scholars.! Property. 



Methodist Episcopal Church . 


28 


36 


3443 


2732 


$117,200 


Presbyterian ..... 


13 


1 15 


1675 


1295 


61,500 


Baptists 


10 


! 18 


1100 


1223 


30,000 


Protestant Episcopal 


5 


5 


685 


298 


40,000 


Lutheran and German Reformed . 


5 


i 17 


400 


1300 


30,000 


Roman Catholic .... 


8 


1 11 


900 


2500 


30,000 


Other Churches .... 


14 


!. 18 


700 


700 


28,000 




83 


120 


8903 


10048 


$336,700 



CHAPTER X. 

THE MILITARY. 

" Me glory summons to the martial scene, 
The field of combat is the sphere for men, 
Where heroes war the foremost place I claim, 
The first in danger and the first in fame. 

Pope's Homer. 

The echoes of the last guns of the Revolutionary and 
of the Pennamite and Yankee wars had scarcely died 
away, when the people of Luzerne were called upon to 
serve the country in the suppression of what is known as 
the Whiskey Insurrection. 

A pack-horse could carry only four bushels of grain to 
market, and it was soon discovered by the early settlers 
of the country to be more remunerative to manufacture 
the rye, corn, or other material, into whiskey, in which 
form the horse could carry the value of twenty-five 
bushels. In that day, to manufacture and drink whiskey 
was not considered disreputable, but on the contrary it 
was a shame to have the bottle empty in the house, espe- 
cially if the parson happened to call. Distilleries, there- 
fore, were among the first manufactories, not only in 
Luzerne, but in all the frontier counties. Whiskey was 
considered as essential in most families as milk, and the 
surplus was exchanged in market for tea, sugar, salt, 
coffee, nails, and other necessaries. 

■ As early as 1756, Pennsylvania imposed an excise duty 
upon all distilled spirits, but the law was repealed, and 

(316) 



THE MILITARY. 317 



never re-enacted by the authority of this Commonwealth. 
In 1791, however, after the power to impose taxes, duties, 
imposts, and excises had been delegated by the states to 
the Federal Government, Congress established an excise 
duty or tax of four pence per gallon on all distilled 
spirits. This law produced open insurrection in Western 
Pennsylvania, where large quantities of whiskey were 
annually manufactured. 

The people of Washington, Fayette, Alleghany, and 
other counties, viewed the law as an act of oppression. 
They stigmatized it as unjust, and as odious as those laws 
of England which led to the Revolutionary War, and 
they considered themselves justifiable in forcible opposi- 
tion to its enforcement. But they did not discriminate 
between their duty and obligations as citizens of a free 
government, and their allegiance as subjects of the British 
crown. 

The excise officers of the government were arrested by 
armed parties, who were painted and otherwise disguised. 
Some were tarred and feathered. Others were conveyed 
into deep recesses of the woods, divested of their clothing, 
and firmly bound to trees. County meetings and con- 
ventions were assembled, inflammatory speeches were 
made, and denunciatory resolutions were adopted. The 
dwellings, barns, and distilleries of persons who spoke in 
favor of the law, or exhibited the least sympathy for the 
government which enacted it, were consumed by fire ; and 
even Pittsburgh, which did not take an active part with 
the rebels, was threatened with total destruction. 

In 1792, Congress reduced the tax, but this did not 
satisfy the insurgents, the Monongahela whiskey manu- 
facturers, and the farmers who supplied them with grain. 
The country continued in a state of insurrection. After 
all mild and dissuasive measures had failed, in 1794, 



318 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Washington being President of the United States, it was 
resolved to raise and equip an army for the purpose of 
quelling the tumult. A force of 15,000 men was as- 
sembled, composed of regulars, and of volunteers from the 
states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and New 
Jersey. 

Governor Lee, of Virginia, had the chief command. 
The other generals were Governor Mifflin, of Pennsyl- 
vania, Governor Howell, of New Jersey, General Daniel 
Morgan, and Adjutant-General Hand. General Knox, 
Secretary of War, General Hamilton, Secretary of the 
Treasury, and Judge Peters, of the Supreme Court, were 
directed, to meet at Pittsburgh, to hear complaints and 
take testimony, as the malcontents should be, from time 
to time, arrested and brought before them. 

Among the first to tender their services to the Federal 
Government, were the Luzerne volunteers,* commanded 
by Captain Samuel Bowman, and attached to a battalion 
of light infantry, under the command of Major George 
Fisher. Captain Bowman marched from Wyoming about 
the 1st of September, 1794, and reached the head waters 
of the Ohio with a company of 50 men. The captain 
was an experienced officer, having commanded a company 
during the war of the Revolution, and several of his men 
were old soldiers of former wars. The introduction of 
15,000 troops among the insurrectionists had the desired 
effect. " Tom the Tinker," as the whiskey boys were 
called, surrendered without resistance. A few were sent 
to Philadelphia for trial, where they were imprisoned for 
many months, but not indicted. Only two or three were 
tried and convicted, but were afterwards pardoned. The 
people submitted to the law, and the volunteers returned 
to their homes after a campaign of three months. 

* See muster roll in the Appendix, F. 



THE MILITARY, 319 



France having aided the United States m their war for 
independence, conceived that she had a just claim on 
them for assistance when she afterwards came to battle 
against the other powers of Europe. 

Failing to induce this government to declare war against 
her enemies, and becoming jealous of the growing intimacy 
between us and England, the object of her inveterate hate, 
France adopted measures destructive of the commerce 
and derogatory to the honor of the United States. She 
dismissed the American minister, and her ships of war 
captured and confiscated several of our merchant vessels. 
The United States, after several attempts at negotiation 
had failed, prepared for war. Hostilities commenced in 
January, 1799, on the ocean, by the surprise and (!^pture 
of the American sloop of war Retaliation, Lieutenant 
Bainbridge, by the French frigate Insurgent, of 40 guns. 
In February following, the United States frigate Constel- 
lation, of 32 guns. Captain Truxtun, fell in with and 
engaged the Insurgent, and in one hour and a half com- 
pelled her to strike her colors. In a few days after, the 
Constellation engaged the French frigate Vengeance, of 54 
guns. The engagement lasted from eight o'clock in the 
evening until one in the morning following. The Ven- 
geance struck her flag twice, but on account of the dark- 
ness of the night it was unperceived by Truxtun. The 
Constellation lost her mainmast, and being unable to make 
pursuit, the Vengeance escaped, but with great loss. 

At the request of President Adams and of Congress, 
General Washington assumed the command of the army. 
The troops were ordered to rendezvous at Newburg and 
Elizabethtown. A call was made for volunteers, and the 
citizens of Luzerne, as usual, gave a patriotic response. 
In May, 1799, Captain Samuel Bowman, with 75 men, 
constituted one of the companies of the 11th United 



320 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



States regiment of infantry, commanded by Colonel Aaron 
Ogden. The Luzerne volunteers* marched to the Dela- 
ware, and thence to Newburg, and remained in the ser- 
vice of their country until the latter part of the year 
1800. France did not attempt to- invade our soil, and 
the success of our gallant little navy, with the promotion 
of Bonaparte to the position of First Consul, led to the 
conclusion of a treaty of peace, and the army was dis- 
banded. 

The advance of the eagles of France, under the guid- 
ance of the great Napoleon, gave constant employment 
to all the forces of the allied European powers, and left 
the seas free to the ships of America and England. 
AmeriTjan vessels transported the productions of the 
French colonies to France : in other words, our ships did 
the carrying-trade for a nation whose vessels had been 
swept from the ocean by the superior naval power of 
England. England, becoming jealous of the rapidly in- 
creasing commercial greatness of the United States, 
asserted, among other false principles, the right to search 
American ships for deserters, and to press them into the 
English service. In 1807 the British frigate Leopard, 
unexpectedly and without provocation, fired into the 
United States frigate Chesapeake. In addition to this, 
other insults were offered to the American flag, and they 
became so frequent that an immediate declaration of war 
was anticipated. Under these circumstances volunteers 
in the several states offered their services to President 
Jefferson. Among these was a well-uniformed and drilled 
company at Wilkesbarre, called the Wyoming Blues, 
commanded by Captain Joseph Slocum. The services of 
the company were tendered to the President in a patriotic 

* See muster roll in the Appendix, G. 



THE MILITARY. 321 



communication signed by its chief officers, to which they 
received a flattering reply from Mr. Jeiferson, in his own 
handwriting. We give these letters as follows : 

" To Thomas Jefferson, Esq., 

President of the United States. 

" Sir : As it has been the unanimous voice of our fel- 
low-soldiers, of different volunteer corps in the United 
States, to offer their services in defence of their country 
in this momentous crisis, ^ when every nation is looking 
with an envious eye at the peace and prosperity of the 
United States,' and more especially Great Britain, who 
ought to be the last to enter the list ; but, proud of her 
navy, she bids her armed vessels enter into our harbors 
and rivers, and impress our fellow-citizens while peaceably 
employed in the commerce of their country. Not content 
with this, she orders the commanders of her frigates to 
fire on the armed vessels of the United States, within the 
jurisdiction of the same, while peaceably pursuing her 
course to the place of her destination, murdering our 
fellow-citizens, while she is holding out the olive branch 
of peace, which brings to our recollection the plains of 
Wyoming, in the revolutionary war, strewed with human 
gore by the savage hirelings of her perfidious government. 

" Therefore we, the undersigned, being appointed by the 
light infantry company called the Wyoming Blues, and 
through us the said company offer their services, in 
defence of their country, whenever the government of 
the United States deem it expedient to call them in 
defence of the country. 

"Joseph Slocum, Captain. 
" Isaac Bowman, Lieutenant. 
" Benj. Perry, Sergeant." 
21 



322 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



" To Messrs. Joseph Slocum, Isaac Bowman, and Benjamin 
Perry, a Coirimittee of the Light Infantry Company, 
called the Wyoming Blues. 

" The offer of your service in support of the rights of 
your country, merits and meets the highest praise, and 
whenever the moment arrives in which these rights must 
appeal to the public arm for support, the spirit from which 
the offer flows, that which animates our nation, will be 
their sufficient safeguard. 

" Having required, from the governors of the several 
states, their several quotas of militia to be ready for ser- 
vice, and recommended at the same time the preparation 
of volunteers under the Acts of Congress, and particularly 
that of the 24th of February, 1807, the acceptance and 
organization of such volunteers has been delegated to 
them. 

" Tendering, therefore, the thanks of our country so 
justly deserved for all offers of service made to me, I 
must add that it is necessary to renew them to the gov- 
ernor of the state, for the purposes of acceptance and 
organization. 

" I salute you with great respect, 

" Th. Jefferson. 

" Sept. 19th, 1807." 

In 1812, after a series of insults from Great Britain 
intolerable to be borne, the United States declared war 
against her. " Free trade and sailors' rights" now became 
the motto of our people, as " Millions for defence and not 
one cent for tribute" had been a few years before, when 
the executive directory of France demanded the payment 
of money before negotiating for peace. 

The " Wyoming Matross," a volunteer company in 
Kingston, commanded by Captain Samuel Thomas, with 



THE MILITARY. 323 



the promptitude of former companies in this valley, im- 
mediately offered their services to the government. They 
were accepted, and on the 13th of April, 1813, they 
marched from Kingston to the Eddy, at the mouth of 
Shoup's Creek, in Plymouth. . Here they embarked, 31 
in number, and went down the river on a raft to Dan- 
ville. From Danville, they marched over land to Lewis- 
town, and thence to Bedford, where Captain Thomas 
recruited 37 men. Proceeding westward through Fayette 
county, he obtained 27 other recruits, and arrived at Erie, 
May 5th, with 95 officers and privates.* On their arrival, 
they were attached to one of the Pennsylvania regiments, 
under Colonel Reese Hill. 

The " Matross" was an artillery company, and in the 
cannonading at Presque Harbor did good execution. They 
fired no less than thirty shots into the hull of the brig Hun- 
ter, and with two long nine-pounders cut away and mate- 
rially damaged the rigging of the Queen Charlotte. 

Preparatory to the battle of Lake Erie, for the purpose 
of manning Perry's fleet, volunteers were solicited from 
among the land forces. Among those who offered and 
were accepted for this service were William Pace, Benja- 
min Hall, Godfrey Bowman, and James Bird, of the 
" Matross," four as brave men as ever faced a foe. They 
enlisted on board the Niagara, and during the engagement 
fought with wonderful energy and efficiency. Their cool- 
ness and courage elicited the warm commendation of 
Commodore Perry, who, it will be remembered, brought 
the Niagara into action. To each of her volunteers, in 
this action, the Legislature of Pennsylvania voted a silver 
medal, upon one side of which is a likeness of Commo- 
dore Perry, with the inscription, " Presented by the Gov- 

* See muster roll in the Appendix. H. 



324 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



eminent of Pennsylvania — Oliver Hazard Perry — Pro 
patria vicitr Upon the other side is the following : — 

" To (name engraved), in testimony of his 

patriotism and bravery in the naval engagement on Lake 
Erie, Sept. 10th, 1813. We have met the enemy, and 
they are ours." Pace, Hall, and Bowman, the last of 
whom was wounded, received each one of these tokens 
of respect for their valor, but Bird, the bravest of the 
bravOj kneeling upon his coffin, received his death-shot 
from the hands of his own countrymen. 

Bird was from Pittston, and was descended from a most 
respectable family. He was a man of great bodily strength 
and activity, and was full of patriotic devotion to the 
cause of his country, but unfortunately his proud spirit 
boldly rejected many of the restraints imposed by the 
stern rules of military discipline. He fought like a tiger, 
and when wounded refused to be carried below. For his 
bravery he was promoted to the position of orderly ser- 
geant of the marines on the Niagara. 

News of the intended attack of the enemy on New 
Orleans had reached the fleet on Lake Erie, and Bird, 
ambitious to be in the midst of the smoke and fire of 
battle, one night, when in command of the guard, 
marched away with several of his men to join General 
Jackson. He was pursued and arrested at Pittsburgh, 
from which place he was about to embark with a com- 
pany of volunteers for the Crescent City. Being arraigned 
before and tried by a court-martial, he was sentenced, in 
accordance with the rules of war, to be shot. Had Com- 
modore Perry received intelligence of the proceedings in 
time, Bird's life would have been spared. It is said that Bird 
had openly expressed his condemnation of the position 
and management of the Niagara before she was boarded 
and brought into action by Perry, and that his free 



THE MILITARY. 325 



speech in relation to this subject, operated against him 
when on trial for his life. The following popular ballad, 
suggested by this melancholy event, is from the pen of 
the Hon. Charles Miner : — 

Sons of Freedom, listen to me, 

And ye daughters too give ear ; 
You, a sad and mournful story 

As was ever told, sliall hear. 

Hull, you know, his troops surrendered, 

And defenceless left the West; 
Then our forces quick assembled. 

The invaders to resist. 

Among the troops that marched to Erie, 

Were the Kingston Volunteers ; 
Captain Thomas, their commander, 

To protect our West frontiers. 

' Tender were the scenes of parting ; 

Mothers wrung their hands and cried; 
Maidens wept their love in secret. 
Fathers strove their tears to hide. 

But there's one among the number, 

Tall and graceful in his mien, 
Firm his step, his look undaunted ; 

Ne'er a nobler youth was seen. 

One Bweet kiss he stole from Mary, 

Craved his mother's prayers once more, 

Pressed his father's hand and left them, 
For Lake Erie's distant shore. 

Mary tried to say, " Farewell, James :" 
Waved her hand, but nothing spoke ; 

'* Grood-bye, Bird, — may heaven protect you !" 
From the rest at parting broke. 



326 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Soon they came where noble Perry 

Had assembled all his fleet; 
There the gallant Bird enlisted, 

Hoping soon the foe to meet. 

Where is Bird ? the battle rages ; 

Is he in the strife or no ? 
Now the cannon roar tremendous — 

Dare he meet the haughty foe ? 

Ay — behold him ! there with Perry ; 

In the self-same ship they fight; 
Though his messmates fall around him ; 

Nothing can his soul affright. 

But behold, a ball has struck him ! 

See the crimson current flow ! 
" Leave the. deck ;" exclaimed brave Perry j 

" No," cried Bird, " I will not go. 

'' Here on deck I took my station ; 

Ne'er will Bird his colors fly ; 
I'll stand by you, gallant captain, 

Till we conquer, or we die !" 

Still he fought, though faint and bleeding, 
Till our stars and stripes arose ; 

Victory having crowned our efforts, 
All triumphant o'er our foes ! 

And did Bird receive a pension ? 

Was he to his friends restored ? 
No, nor ever to his bosom 

Clasped the maid his heart adored ! 

But there came most dismal tidings. 
From Lake Erie's distant shore ; 

Better if poor Bird had perished 
'Midst the cannon's awful roar. 



THE MILITARY. 327 



" Dearest parents," said the letter ; 

" This will bring sad news to you ; 
Do not mourn your first beloved, 

Though it brings his last adieu ! 

" I must suflFer for deserting 

From the brig Niagara ; 
Read this letter, brothers, sisters — 

'Tis the last you'll have from me." 

Sad and gloomy was the morning- 
Bird was ordered out to die j 

Where's the breast not dead to pity, 
But for him will heave a sigh ? 

Lo ! he fought so brave at Erie, 

Freely bled and nobly dared ; 
Let his courage plead for mercy ; 

Let his precious life be spared. 

See him march, and bear his fetters, 

Harsh they clank upon the ear; 
But his step is firm and manly. 

For his breast ne'er harbored fear. 

See ! he kneels upon his coffin ! 

Sure his death can do no good ; 
Spare him, hark ! oh Grod, they've shot him ! 

Oh ! his bosom streams with blood ! 

Farewell, Bird ! farewell, for ever ; 

Friends and home he'll see no more. 
But his mangled corpse lies buried 

On Lake Erie's distant shore ! 

After the battle of Lake Erie, Colonel Hill's regiment, 
by order of General Harrison, advanced from Erie to 
Cleveland, and, on the 27th of September, with the main 
army, and with the naval forces under Commodore Perry, 
crossed the line into Canada. They now marched against 



328 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Maiden, which the enemy deserted, after burning the 
public buildings. Advancing towards Sandwich, the 
Americans found that place also deserted. Thence they 
crossed the Detroit river to attack General Proctor, who, 
with several hundred British troops and a large body of 
Indians under the celebrated chief Tecumseh, was in pos- 
session of Detroit. Captain Thomas's company was in the 
forward gun-boats in the passage across the river, and, 
landing, planted the stars and stripes on the opposite bank. 
Proctor and his forces retreated, whom General Harrison 
immediately pursued with the main body of his army, 
including the whole of the "Matross," except fourteen 
men, who were left with Captain Thomas at Detroit. In 
the battle of the Thames the company was commanded 
by Lieutenant Ziba Hoyt, and acquitted itself with credit, 
sustaining the reputation of Luzerne for good and true 
soldiers. 

In addition to the company of Captain Thomas, Luzerne 
furnished a number of volunteers for the companies of 
Captain John Baldy, of Columbia, and Captain Robert 
Gray, of Northumberland counties. Among these were 
Job Barton, William Hart, William Brown, Henry Hard- 
ing,'^uther Scott, W. C. Johnson, and about thirty others, 
whose names we have been unable to procure. These 
companies were attached to the 16th regiment of infantry, 
known as the "Bloody 16th." This regiment was com- 
manded by Colonel Cromwell Pearce. It was present at 
the engagements of Sackett's Harbor, Stony Creek, and 
of other places. At the battle of York, in Canada, when 
General Pike was killed by the blowing up of the maga- 
zine. Colonel Pearce, of this regiment, assumed the com- 
mand of the army, and received the capitulation of the 
enemy. During the war there was a recruiting station 
established at Wilkesbarre, and the names of Captains 



THE MILITARY. 329 



Baldy, Gray, and McChesney of the infantryj and Helme 
of the cavahy, are remembered, and frequently mentioned 
with respect by our old citizens. The infantry barracks 
were located on the bank of the river, opposite the present 
residence of Colonel H. B. Wright, and the cavalry bar- 
racks were located on Franklin street, on the site of the 
present residence of the late Joshua Miner, Esq. At 
4 o'clock, A. M., the drums beat the reveille, and drill 
officers with new recruits daily paraded in the streets. 
At short intervals one or more detachments were sent 
away to the regular army. 

In 1814, when the British threatened an attack on 
Baltimore, five companies of militia from Luzerne and 
adjoining counties marched under the command of 
Captains Joseph Camp, Peter Hallock, Frederick Bailey, 
George Hidley, and Jacob Bittenbender.* The Wyoming 
Blues, a volunteer company, assembled at Wilkesbarre, 
with the intention of accompanying the militia, but, some 
difficulty occurring, the company broke up in a row. 
Several of its officers and privates entered the ranks of 
the militia, while eight or ten men, with drums beating, 
marched towards the seat of war, under the colors of the 
Wyoming Blues. On the arrival of these companies at 
Danville, they received intelligence of the gallant defence 
of Fort Henry, and the repulsion of the British forces. 
They consequently received orders to return to their 
homes — an order welcome, doubtless, to men of families, 
but bringing disappointment to others who were antici- 
pating the excitements of an active campaign. 

After peace had been proclaimed, many of the soldiers 
returned to be greeted by friends — many never returned. 
Some fell in battle, some died of camp diseases, and one 
man, upwards of fifty years of age, Robert Dixon, who 

* See muster rolls in the Appendix, I. 



330 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



enlisted at Wilkesbarre, was inhumanly beaten by his 
orderly sergeant, Brack, so that he died on the march from 
Wilkesbarre to Easton, and was buried near Bear Creek. 
Brack was surrendered by Captain McChesney to the 
civil authorities, tried at Wilkesbarre, and convicted of 
murder. Through the exertions of counsel, a new trial 
was granted, when the criminal was found guilty of man- 
slaughter, and died in the penitentiary. 

To the volunteers who survived the hardships of war, 
its diseases and battles, and returned to their homes, 
public dinners and splendid balls were given by their 
fellow-citizens in Wilkesbarre, Plymouth, Kingston, and 
other parts of the county ; and on the proclamation of 
peace there were bonfires, illuminations, and a general 
rejoicing throughout the land. 

THE MEXICAN WAR. 

On the morning of December 7th, 1846, the Wyoming 
Artillerists, under the command of Captain E. L. Dana, 
left Wilkesbarre for the seat of war in Mexico.* The 
company was transported to Pittsburgh by canal, where it 
remained long enough to complete its equipment, and be 
mustered into the service of the United States as a part 
of the 1st Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, to serve 
during the war. At this place, Francis L. Bowman, a 
popular and accomplished officer, the 1st lieutenant of 
the company, was elected major of the regiment. This 
company was designated " I" in the regiment ; arid after 
filling the vacancy occasioned by the election of Major 
Bowman, started for New Orleans on the 22d of December, 
1846, on board the steamer St. Anthony. After their 
arrival, they encamped on the old Battle Ground, about 
7 miles below the city, where they remained until the 

* For names of officers and men, see Appendix, J. 



THE MILITARY. 331 



16tli of January, 1847. On that day they sailed in the 
ship Russell Glover, with three other companies, and 
were conveyed to the Island of Lobos (Wolf Island), 
which they reached February 1st. The passage to this 
point was stormy and tedious. The ship is represented 
to have been a miserable transport; and 400 men were 
compelled to live below hatches in a crowded, suffocating 
space, for a period of two weeks, with little light, fresh 
air, or comfort of any kind. The island where they 
lauded is about 12 miles from the Mexican coast, and 
120 miles north of Vera Cruz. It is about one mile in 
circumference, and was covered with a thick growth of 
chaparral ; and the water used by the troops for cooking 
was of a brackish character, being sea-water filtered 
through the sand. The United States forces had not 
been a week on this island before they were attacked by 
disease. The Mississippi Regiment became infected by 
mumps, and, it is said, they lost six men per day during 
their stay on Lobos. Small-pox next made its appear- 
ance in the 2d Pennsylvania Regiment. 

March 3d, the company left Lobos and sailed for Anton 
Lizardo, 9 miles below Vera Cruz, where they arrived 
two days after. On the 9 th of March, a landing was 
effected on the Mexican coast, at a point 3 miles south 
of Vera Cruz. The fleet had hardly swung to its cables, 
when General Worth's division, with wonderful celerity, 
filled the surf-boats, and, at a signal from the ship of the 
commander-in-chief, darted for the shore amid the enthu- 
siastic cheers of the army and of our gallant tars. By 
nine o'clock of the night of that, day, 12,000 men had 
landed without firing a gun, and were marshalled within 
2 miles of the city. 

After resting that night on the beach, the army com- 
menced the next morning its march through the thick 



332 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY, 



chaparral and sand-hills, for the investment of Vera 
Cruz. The day was intensely hot, and many men were 
stricken down by coup de soleil. To add to their suffer- 
ings, they dare not drink of the water of the springs of 
the country; for a report was abroad that they were 
poisoned by the enemy. It was the fortune of the Wyo- 
ming Artillerists to receive the first fire of the Mexicans. 
Passing through the chaparral by a narrow path, along 
the base of a gentle declivity, the enemy poured their fire 
upon them, when the company was halted, and delivered 
their own with admirable coolness. The "Greasers" fled 
to the city. The company participated actively in the 
investment of the place, and were engaged throughout 
the siege. The trenches were opened on the 22d, and 
after a terrible storm of iron had been blown on the city 
for a few days and nights, it surrendered to the American 
army on the 29 th of March, 1847. 

In April, the volunteer division left the city for the 
interior, under the command of Major-General Patterson. 
Having arrived at Plan del Rio, 50 miles from Vera 
Cruz, they found General Twiggs with his division of 
regulars already there. The Mexicans, under General 
Santa Anna, were strongly posted in the pass of Cerro 
Gordo. On the morning of the 18th of April, the 
American army attacked the Mexican lines. The volun- 
teer brigade formed the left wing, under the command of 
General Pillow, to which the Wyoming Artillerists were 
attached. The brigade took a position within 200 yards 
of the Mexican batteries, which opened upon them a tre- 
mendous fire of grape. The Wyoming boys suffered but 
slightly ; but the 2d Tennesseean Regiment, occupying 
more elevated ground, suffered severely, and General Pil- 
low himself was wounded. In twenty minutes the line 
of attack was completed, and the brigade moved forward 



THE MILITARY. 333 



towards the batteries. The Mexicans now displayed the 
white flag from their defences, for their left wing had 
been completely routed by the forces under Generals 
Twiggs, Shields, Worth, and Quitman. The fruits of this 
victory were 3000 prisoners, 5000 stand of arms, 43 
cannon, the money-chest of the Mexican army, containing 
$20,000, and a free passage for the army into the interior 
of the enemy's country. In this action, David R. Morri- 
son, of the Wyoming company, was killed, and Corporal 
Kitchen wounded. Poor Morrison was mourned by all, 
for not a kinder companion, or braver soldier than he, was 
to be found in the brigade. 

After the battle, the volunteer force encamped 3 miles 
west of Jalapa, where they remained about three weeks. 
They were then ordered to Perote, a place about 35 miles 
west of Jalapa, on the main road to the capital. Here 
they took up their quarters in the celebrated castle of 
Perote, and formed its garrison. The period of their stay 
here was the most melancholy of the whole campaign, 
for the burial of the dead was the principal feature of 
their soldier life. 

Here those ravages of the army, diarrhoea and typhus 
fever, broke out and made fearful havoc in their ranks. 
For many weeks was heard, almost constantly, the melan- 
choly strains of the dead march accompanying their mess- 
mates to lonely and forgotten graves. It was a joyful 
day when they received orders to leave the gloomy castle 
and dreary plains of Perote. About the 2d of July they 
marched for the city of Puebla. On the night of the 4th, 
when the soldiers had taken to their blankets, the camp 
was alarmed by an attack on the pickets, which were 
driven in. Satisfied with this the enemy retired. 

Having reached El Pinal, or the Black Pass, General 
Pillow anticipated a fight, for the enemy were posted there, 



334 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



prepared to dispute the passage. The Wyoming boys 
formed part of the storming party, and behaved gallantly ; 
but when the light troops had scaled the heights com- 
manding the gorge, the Mexicans abandoned their posi- 
tion, and fled. 

On the 7th of July, they approached the fine old city 
of Puebla. Here General Scott, by the 1st of August, 
had concentrated about 11,000 men of all arms. On the 
7th of that month, the army left Puebla for the city of 
Mexico. The Wyoming company, with five others of the 
1st Pennsylvania Regiment, remained behind, constitut- 
ing, with a company of United States artillery, and one 
of cavalry, the garrison of Puebla. They were about 600 
men, under the command of Colonel Childs, a brave and 
skilful officer. To this small force was intrusted the 
charge of 2000 sick men, and an immense amount of 
government property. The population of the city was 
turbulent and warlike, and evinced an uncompromising 
hostility towards the Americans. The place now was 
besieged by the Mexicans, who harassed the garrison, 
day and night, with alarms and attacks. This continued 
for forty days; but our men, occupying strong and 
favorable positions, maintained their ground, and the 
enemy failed so far as not to succeed in driving in a 
single sentinel. 

In this siege John Priest was killed in an engagement 
with guerillas, outside the city walls. Luke Floyd, a 
brave old soldier, who, with Priest, was a member of the 
Wyoming company, was severely wounded. 

The arrival of General Lane, with 3000 men, on the 
12th of October, put an end to the siege. In this arrival 
there were four companies of the 1st Pennsylvania Regi- 
ment, which had been left in garrison at Perote. They 
had participated in the fight at Huamantla, under the 



THE MILITARY. 335 



command of Major F. L. Bowman, of Wilkesbarre, who 
led them up in gallant style. His conduct on this occa- 
sion was highly spoken of by all who witnessed it. Not 
long after the raising of the siege the regiment, now 
united, left Puebla, and, on the 7th of December, 1847, 
arrived in the city of Mexico, where they remained about 
two weeks. They were then quartered at San Angel, 7 
miles from the city, until the treaty of peace, in June, 
1848. 

They now returned to their country at New Orleans, 
and passing up the Mississippi and Ohio to Pittsburgh, 
they were honorably discharged at that place, and mus- 
tered out of service by reason of the expiration of the term 
of enhstment, July 24, 1848. 

The Columbia Guards, of Danville, Pennsylvania, con- 
stituting a portion of the 2d Regiment of Pennsylvania 
Volunteers, was composed in part of volunteers from 
Luzerne county, under Edward E. Leclerc, of Wilkes- 
barre, who was elected 2d lieutenant of the company. 
Among the names of privates who united with the Guards 
under Lieutenant Leclerc, we are able to give those of 
Norman B. Mack, Peter Brobst, Abram B. Carley, Ran- 
dolph Ball, George Garner, Oliver Helme, Joseph H. 
Stratton, William Kutz, and William White. 

Edward E. Leclerc was appointed regiment quarter- 
master, November 8th, 1847, and, a few days after, be- 
came 1st lieutenant of his company. He was a brave 
officer, and conducted himself gallantly throughout the 
war. 

On the return of the volunteers to their homes, they 
were greeted at every point by the enthusiastic demon- 
strations of the people, who welcomed them with shouts 
and the roar of artillery. When the Wyoming troops 
reached the valley, they found Wilkesbarre crowded with 



336 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



citizens from the country round about, and extensive pre- 
parations made to receive them in a becoming manner. 
While the body of the people manifested their rejoicings 
in tumultuous shouts and with the thunder of guns, the 
relatives and friends of the returned soldiers met them 
with tears of joy, and the demonstrations of deep and 
quiet affection. 

From what we have recorded in this chapter, it will 
be observed that a considerable portion of the soldiers 
entering the service of their country from this county 
were volunteers, and the events of the Mexican war 
demonstrate that volunteers in conjunction with the 
regular army are sufficient for almost every emergency. 
The Legislature of our state has abolished the militia 
system, and extended encouragement for the formation 
of volunteer companies. Under the laws framed for their 
organization, Luzerne county has 21 companies, of which 
2 are cavalry, amounting in' all to 987 officers and men. 
The Great Rebellion. (See Appendix Z.) 



CHAPTER XI. 
AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES. 

" Princes and lords may flourish, or may fade, 
A breath can make them as a breath hath made ; 
But a bold peasantry, their country's pride, 
When once destroyed can never be supplied." 

Agriculture is the true source of our country's pros- 
perity, and from it we derive most of tiie elements of our 
strength and defence. It is, perhaps, more immediately 
connected with virtue, prudence, and economy, than any 
other sublunary pursuit. It was so considered by our 
fathers, and has been thus esteemed by all good govern- 
ments through all the ages of the historic period. It 
was one of the earliest employments of mankind, and has 
been ever regarded as the nourisher of healthy and inde- 
pendent citizens. When agriculture declines, the glory 
and power of the nation are on the wane. This asser- 
tion is sustained by the history of many ancient nations. 
At one time the Egyptians worshiped the ox on account 
of his labor, and the Romans, in the early days of their 
history, venerated the plow, and viewed the industrious 
farmer who used it well, as the model or embodiment of 
all the virtues which should adorn a good and free citizen. 
The fathers of our great Republic, the leaders and soldiers 
of the Revolutionary army, and most of our greatest 
orators and statesmen, were farmers. Washington, Jef- 
ferson, Jackson, Harrison, Webster, Clay, and many others 
of our most eminent men, have not only recommended 

22 (337) 



338 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



agriculture as a pursuit best suited for a republican peo- 
ple, but have themselves been the owners of farms, and 
experienced a sense of pride and delight in tilling the soil 
according to the most improved methods. 

Nearly all the first settlers in Luzerne county were 
farmers, who handled the axe and the plow, who sowed 
the grain and gathered the harvest. Their wives and 
daughters did not scorn the labor of the kitchen ; they 
prepared the rich milk, the delicious butter and cheese, 
and, when occasion required, assisted their husbands and 
fathers in the field. Their hands were familiar with the 
wash-tub and the dough-tray, they spun flax, and wove 
cloth for the backs of the men, and carpets for the floors 
of their houses. Almost every house contained a loom, 
one or two spinning-wheels, and a dye pot. The men 
were agriculturists, and the women were manufacturers. 
The young ladies of one neighborhood or township fre- 
quently vied with those of another in spinning, weaving, 
and coloring cloth. It was not uncommon for young 
ladies to spin 100 knots per day. Miss Mary Smith of 
Pittston frequently spun 120 knots in a day. In 1828, 
Miss Rachel Jenkins spun and reeled 135 knots in twelve 
hours, and Miss Selinda Jenkins spun 136 knots of filling 
in the same time. The farmers on the east side of the 
river contended with those on the west side, in raising 
wheat, rye, corn, and vegetables, the most and best on a 
given lot of ground. It was the high ambition of the 
young men to become good farmers, and wed industrious 
and accomplished girls, such as Rachel and Selinda Jen- 
kins. But this state of things has been materially changed 
within our own day. Our farmers' sons now aspire to be 
lawyers, physicians, or merchants, and their daughters 
seek to become the wives of professional gentlemen. The 
rural districts annually send large numbers of young men 



AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES. 339 



and women to our cities and chief towns, where they 
hope to reside in ease, or make fortunes by some sudden 
turn of luck. A false and pernicious idea of what is 
respectable seems to pervade the great body of the people. 
Manual labor is viewed as mean and degrading, while 
white hands and idleness are considered the test of re- 
spectability. The consequence is, there are multitudes 
of idlers in all portions of the country, who relieve the 
tedium of their lives by ridiculous day-dreams, and the 
perusal of immoral literature. As their bodies grow 
effeminate and weak, their minds also lose their natural 
healthy tone. Dissipation and debauchery ensue, want 
stares them in the face, life becomes a burden, and poison 
or the pistol often closes the scene. 

Those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God, whose breasts 
be has made his peculiar deposit for substantial and genuine virtue. — Jefferson. 

" Drive on, thou sturdy farmer, 

Drive cheerily o'er the field; 
The pleasures of a farmer's life 

No other life can yield. 

Thou risest with the morning sun, 

To till the fruitful earth ; 
And when thy daily task is done, 

Thou seek'st thy peaceful hearth. 

Thou lovest not the gaudy town, 

With its tumultuous roar ; 
Plenty and peace thy fireside crown, 

And thou dost ask no more. 

Monarchs with robes in crimson dyed, 

Are low compared with thee ; 
They are the pampered souls of pride, 

Thou'rt God's nobility. 



340 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Go on, tliou sturdy farmer, 

Tread proudly on the sod. 
Thy proud and goodly heritage. 

Thou chosen man of Grod." 

Business men, and men of all professions, whose opinion 
is worth our regard, concur in expressing their high 
appreciation of practical farmers and mechanics. Use- 
fulness is the proper test of what is respectable, and who, 
on the broad face of the earth, is more useful than the 
honest, intelligent tiller of the soil, or the industrious, 
practical mechanic ? The evil in question proceeds mainly 
from a system of education in our colleges and higher 
schools, which does not have sufficient of the useful in 
combination with the ornamental. There is too great a 
veneration for ancient lore to the exclusion of modern 
science, too much attention given to that which strikes 
the senses in preference to those studies which give 
knowledge to the mind, while they enlarge and strengthen 
its powers. The evil will be corrected when we cultivate 
the body together with the moral and intellectual powers, 
that is, when we combine in our system of education 
manual labor in connection with studies of a practical 
character. 

The spirit of the coal speculation, aided and invigorated 
by this false idea with respect to labor, has had a most 
destructive effect on the agricultural interests of our 
county. In 1828, Luzerne produced a surplus of 190,000 
bushels of wheat, 1000 barrels of pork, 500 barrels of 
whiskey, 100,000 bushels of corn, besides large quantities 
of other grains, valued in all at $600,000. The case is 
very different now. 

In England agriculture has been ever highly esteemed, 
but particularly so since its conquest by the Normans in 
1066. However, the first work on husbandry did not 



AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES. 341 



make its appearance until the reign of Henry VIII. It 
was written by Sir A. Fitzherbert, and contained direc- 
tions for clearing, draining, and enriching the soil. During 
the reign of Elizabeth, a number of agricultural works 
issued from the press, and much attention was given 
to the breeding of horses, sheep, swine, and horned cattle. 
In after years, the National Board of Agriculture was 
formed, bringing the farmers of the realm together at a 
National Fair, where the best productions were exhibited 
and a laudable rivalry excited. By this and other means, 
agriculture has been carried to a very high degree of im- 
provement in the mother country. 

In 1761, there were 13 grand and 19 auxiliary agri- 
cultural societies in France, and under the great Napoleon, 
who well knew how to appreciate a bold and industrious 
peasantry, their number was greatly increased. New 
breeds of horses, horned cattle, sheep, and swine, were 
introduced into the kingdom, and liberal premiums were 
offered for the best productions of agriculture. 

The people of New England long ago manifested their 
appreciation of agriculture, by establishing societies for 
its promotion, and importing improved stock from the 
Old World. 

In 1788, the Philadelphia Agricultural Society, which 
had been established several years before at the request 
of the Supreme Executive Council, made a learned report 
on the subject of the Hessian fly. The king of England 
had issued his proclamation forbidding the entry of 
American wheat into British ports, on account of this 
destructive insect ; and it was this circumstance which led 
to the investigation by the Philadelphia Society, and 
resulted advantageously to our farmers. 

In 1849, the Pennsylvania State Agricultural Societ}'- 
was organized, and the first State Fair held in the follow- 



342 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



ing year at Harrisburg. Since then societies have been 
organized in ahiiost every county in the Commonwealth. 

In January, 1810, the Luzerne County Agricultural 
Society was first organized, in the old court-house at 
Wilkesbarre. Jesse Fell, Esq., was chosen chairman, and 
Dr. E. H. Rose secretary of the meeting. A constitution 
was adopted, and the following officers were chosen for 
the year : Jesse Fell, Esq., president ; Matthias HoUen- 
back, Esq., vice-president ; Thomas Dyer, Esq., treasurer ; 
Peleg Tracy, recording secretary; and Dr. Rose and 
Jacob Cist, corresponding secretaries. The preamble to 
the constitution declared the object of the society to be 
for the improvement and advancement of agriculture, by 
introducing improved breeds of horses, cattle, sheep, 
swine, and the best grain, such as wheat, rye, corn, &c., 
and the improvement of the soil by lime and manure. 

The prominent and efiicient actors in this movement 
were Dr. Rose and Jacob Cist, Esq., both enterprising 
men, laboring for the advancement of useful knowledge, 
and possessing perhaps a greater share of scientific agri- 
cultural information than any other two gentlemen in the 
county. 

No proceedings of the Society have been preserved 
other than a report made in 1811, on 19 specimens of 
cloth, presented by Mr. Ingham, all of which were pro- 
nounced creditable. The pieces particularly noticed were 
those wrought by Miss Luckey, Raphael Stone, R. Ing- 
ham, A. Stevens, N. Stevens, and Joseph Ingham. 

There is preserved also a list of premiums proposed in 
1824, as follows: For the best field of wheat, less than 
30 acres, $5 ; for the best field of corn and rye, $5 ; for 
the best field of oats or buckwheat less than 30 acres, 
$3 ; for the best acre of potatoes, $3 ; for the best half- 
acre of flax, $4 ; for the best quarter-acre of rutabaga 



AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES. 34i 



turnips and tobacco, each $3 ; best ram, |3 ; best ewe, 
$3 ; best bull, |5 ; best cow, $5 ; best piece of woolen 
cloth, $5 ; second best, |3 ; best piece of flannel, $4 ; best 
piece of domestic carpet, |4 ; best piece of linen, one yard 
wide, $3 ; best quality of cheese, less than 100 pounds, 
$5 ; best sample of butter, not less than 20 pounds, $o ; 
best made plow, $5 ; best quantity of stone fence, not 
less than 25 rods, $5 ; for a bushel of the best apples or 
peaches, $1.50; for the best watermelon, 50 cents. 

For the best essay on the Hessian fly, and preventing 
its ravages, there was offered a premium of |5 ; for the 
best essay on the various species of curculio, and the mode 
of desjiroying them, $5 ; for the best essay on agriculture 
or manufactures, $5. 

To many readers this list may seem wholly uninterest- 
ing, but to some it will appear curious and instructive, 
showing the deep interest manifested by our people, near 
fifty years ago, in agriculture and manufactures. It 
exhibits a striking contrast with the apathy on this sub- 
ject which has characterized us for many years gone by. 

About this time the several turnpike roads, connecting 
the centre and extremities of the county with Easton and 
Philadelphia, were completed, or in process of completion. 
John Stoddart, then one of the most wealthy citizens of 
Philadelphia, who had subscribed $50,000 to the capital 
stock of the Lehigh Navigation Company, and through 
whose influence Mr. Ridgway and Mr. Girard had sub- 
scribed each a like amount, laid out Stoddartsville, and 
in 1816 erected a large merchant-mill at that place, with 
a view to purchasing the grain of Luzerne county, and 
manufacturing it into flour for the Philadeljohia market. 
The merchants of Easton deposited money at Wilkesbarre 
to buy grain, and during the winter hundreds of sleds, 
drawn by noble horses, might be seen wending their way 



344 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



slowly with their heavy loads, up the mountain side, 
destined for the markets below. They returned with 
salt, sugar, molasses, and other necessaries. During the 
summer and fall the covered broad-wheeled Conestoga 
wagons, moved by four or six splendid draught-horses, 
were constantly employed in transporting the productions 
of the county to market. 




CONESTOGA WAGON. 



The old route, by which the produce of the county 
was conveyed, in Durham boats, to Middletown, and 
thence by teams to Philadelphia, a distance of 220 miles, 
was now superseded by new avenues, which brought the 
market within 60 miles of us. It was these circum- 
stances which induced the efforts to advance the agricul- 
tural interests by premiums, and by the dissemination of 
useful information among the people. 

In 1775 wheat sold in Wilkesbarre at 4 shillings or 68 
cents per bushel, rye at 51, and corn at 34 cents. In 



AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES. 345 



1799 wheat sold in Easton at 14 shillings per bushel, and 
in 1801 at 15 shillings, while 37J cents per bushel was 
paid for its transportation from Wilkesbarre to that place; 
In 1808 wheat sold in Wilkesbarre at 4 shillings and 6 
pence per bushel, and in 1821 superfine flour sold at 
$3.25 per barrel. In 1822 wheat here was $1 ; r^^e and 
corn, 75 cents; buckwheat, 55 cents; and flaxseed, 87i 
cents. In 1827 wheat was |1.06; rye, 87i cents; oats, 
43 cents ; and flour, $5 per barrel in Easton. In 1830 
wheat in Wilkesbarre was 75 cents ; rye, 45 ; corn, 40 ; 
buckwheat, 31; butter, 12 J; and cheese, 6 cents. In 
1831 flour was $5 per barrel ; wheat, 95 cents per bushel ; 
butter, 10 cents per pound; cheese, 8 cents; and eggs, 10 
cents per dozen. 

Occasionally, the farmer received a very high price for 
wheat, as in 1800, but the average price from that year 
to 1834, when the canal to the Lackawanna was com- 
pleted, and an avenue for our coal was opened, did not 
exceed $1 per bushel in Wilkesbarre, or $1.10 in Easton 
and Stoddartsville. 

The average prices of other grains were not more than 
50 cents per bushel, while that of butter was 12, and of 
cheese 7 cents per pound. 

If, then, at these prices agriculture was encouraged 
and cherished, and the farmers became prosperous and 
wealthy, how much greater is the inducement to culti- 
vate the soil at the present day, w^hen the prices of pro- 
duce are nearly double, and when the farmers find a 
market at their very doors ? 

The following table exhibits the prices of grain and 
butter in Luzerne county, from 1847 to 1859, inclu- 
sive : — 



346 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Year. 


Flour. 


Wheat. 


Rye. 


Corn. 


Oats. 


1847 


$7.50 


11.37 


$0.65 


$0.56 


$0.37 


1848 


6.50 


1.25 


.62 


.56 


.40 


1849 


7.00 


1.30 


.65 


.60 


.42 


1850 


7.50 


1.37 


.68 


.58 


.45 


1851 


7.00 


1.25 


.65 


.56 


.40 


1852 


8.00 


1.50 


.70 


.60 


.40 


1853 


12.00 


2.50 


1.00 


.90 


.58 


1854 


10.00 


2.00 


1.00 


.75 


.50 


1855 


10.00 


2.00 


1.00 


.90 


.56 


1856 


10.00 


2.00 


.70 


.70 


.45, 


1857 


8.00 


1.75 


.75 


.62 


.45 


1858 


7.50 


1.62 


.75 


.75 


.45 


1859 


6.50 


1.35 


.60 


.56 


.40 



Buckwheat. 


Butter. 


$0.50 


10.18 


.50 


.16 


.55 


.18 


.55 


.20 


.50 


.20 


.50 


.18 


.75 


.22 


.75 


.22 


.75 


.25 


.56 


.25 


.50 


.25 


.56 


.25 


.50 


.20 



Pork has risen in price from 5 to 7 cents per lb., 
and hay from $9 to $14 per ton, during the same period. 
In some years the prices of the articles before mentioned 
may have varied, but in the main this table, made up 
from reliable sources, is correct.* 

Notwithstanding these remunerative prices for agricul- 
tural products, the farming interest has declined among 
us. Hundreds of acres of excellent land, once product- 
ive, have been purchased by coal companies, and now 
yield barely enough to pay taxes, w^hile our farmers, in 
many cases, neglect the improvement of their lands by 
manures, and their stock by imported breeds. This state 
of things being manifest to every observer, a number of 
gentlemen, anxious to stimulate renewed efforts in favor 
of agriculture, called a meeting at the court-house in 
Wilkesbarre, in 1850, and after appointing delegates to 
the Farmers' Convention to meet at Harrisburg, adjourned 
to meet again in January, 1851. At that subsequent 
meeting, the second Luzerne County Agricultural So- 
ciety was organized. Addresses were delivered by Judge 
Conyngham, General E. W. Sturdevant, S. F. Headley, 
Esq., and others, and in the following April officers for 
the ensuing year were elected. They were. General Wm. 

* During the late rebellion the above prices increased 100 per cent. ; and 
in some instances 200 per cent. 



AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES. 347 



S. Ross, president; Hon. John Koons and Hon. William 
Hancock, vice-president; S. D. Lewis, Esq., treasurer; 
George H. Butler, recording secretary ; Washington Lee, 
Jr., corresponding secretary; and Charles Dorrance and 
Wm. P. Miner, curators. Two hundred farmers, and other 
persons interested in the promotion of agriculture, united 
with the society, and the promise was very fair for great 
improvement in that direction. This, however, was a 
delusion. The society, like almost everything else among 
us, was withered, and died away under the effect of the 
coal land speculation. 

In 1857, the Abington Agricultural Society was organ- 
ized by the citizens of Abington township, and held its 
first fair in 1858, at which there was a creditable display 
of the productions of the northern portions of our county. 
This society is now known as the Northern Luzerne Ag- 
ricultural Society. 

In 1858, the third Luzerne County Agricultural So- 
ciety was organized at Mr. Wambold's, in Kingston. 
Charles Dorrance, Esq., was chosen president ; General E. 
W. Sturdevant, Samuel Wadhams, Benjamin Harvey, C. 
D. Shoemaker, Esqs., and others, vice-presidents. A 
constitution was adopted, executive and other committees 
were appointed, and preparations were made for holding 
the first fair of the society on the 27th and 28th of the 
following October, at or near the village of Wyoming. 

The editor of the Times, at Wilkesbarre, speaking of 
the fair, says : — 

" The first annual fair of the Luzerne County Agricul- 
tural Society, on Wednesday and Thursday of last week, 
was a decided success, far beyond the most sanguine anti- 
cipations of its most ardent friends. Too much praise 
cannot be awarded to the president. Colonel Dorrance, and 
those members of the executive committee who took 



348 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



charge of the arrangements, and carried them to a suc- 
cessful termination. 

" And we feel authorized to say, as the expression of 
the president and of the executive committee, that pub- 
lic acknowledgments are due to Mr. James Jenkins and 
his friends of Wyoming, for the faithful and prompt man- 
ner in which they carried out their offer to enclose the 
grounds and prepare a track and stands in time for the 
fair. It was done gracefully and splendidly. The State 
Fair never had finer grounds for an exhibition. And as 
if Providence, willing to help those who help themselves, 
smiled on the enterprise, the weather continued clear, 
mild, and delightful through the month, and particularly 
pleasant during the fair days. 

" It is but very few weeks, not two months, since the 
idea of forming an agricultural society assumed a definite 
shape. Captain John Urquhart, a gentleman who pays 
much attention to the improvement of stock in the 
county, stepped in our office one day, and suggested the 
feasibility of forming a society and holding a fair. In 
pursuance of his suggestion, we penned and inserted in 
the Record of the Times, the call for a meeting at Wam- 
bold's, in Kingston, on the next Saturday, September 
18th. The meeting was quite respectable, and a com- 
mittee was appointed to draft a constitution, to report at 
an adjourned meeting, the next Saturday, at the same 
place. 

" The meeting was crowded — a constitution was adopted 
— nearly a hundred and forty members joined, and the 
society was organized. 

" The executive committee met the next Monday, Sep- 
tember 27th, resolved to hold an exhibition, and accepted 
the proposition of Mr. Jenkins, to furnish the grounds at 
Wyoming. In just one short month the whole arrange- 



AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES. 349 



ment was carried out, and the exhibition opened on the 
27th of October." 

Premiums to the amount of hundreds of dollars were 
awarded for the best stock, poultry, vegetables, machinery, 
&c., &c. The fair grounds are 50 acres in extent, on a 
level surface, and contain a splendid trotting course of 
one mile circular. 

At this exhibition we saw a mountaineer with a num- 
ber of rattle and other snakes, the productions, as he 
represented, of his farm, winding themselves about his 
arms and neck. There was exhibited a horse with five 
legs ; a rooster with three legs ; a bald eagle, perched upon 
a pole, taken below the Eagle's Nest, near the Nanticoke 
dam; an ox, thin in flesh, weighing 1900 pounds; an 
ear of corn measuring 16 inches in length; a j)umpkin 
weighing 200 pounds; a turnip weighing 10, and a beet 
weighing 5 pounds. We also saw fine specimens of 
apples, pears, potatoes, and other fruits and vegetables, 
but none excelled those of former times. 

In 1824, David Adams, of Northmoreland township, 
now in Wyoming county, raised 284 potatoes in one hill, 
all from the seed of one potato. 

In 1825, Jacob Cist, Esq., raised a plum, in his garden 
at Wilkesbarre, measuring 51 inches in circumference. 

In 1827, Colonel H. F. Lamb raised a pear, in his 
garden at Wilkesbarre, weighing 22 ounces, and measur- 
ing 14 i inches in circumference. 

In 1832, Anderson Dana raised 15 beets in one bed, 
the aggregate weight of which was 119 pounds, the largest 
weighing 9 pounds 10 ounces. 

In 1839, Henry Gabriel raised a common field pump- 
kin, in Plymouth, which weighed 120 pounds, and mea- 
sured 6 feet 4 J inches in circumference. 

In 1827, a mountaineer farmer collected, from his small 



350 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



rocky plantation, 75 full grown rattle-snakes, which he 
exhibited to the editor of the Wyoming Herald, at Wil- 
kesbarre, and then proceeded with his crop to the Phila- 
delphia market. 

In 1835, a goose, belonging to Abel Hoyt, in Kingston, 
laid an egg which measured 11 inches in length, 9 inches 
in circumference, and weighed 10 ounces. 

Luzerne county contains about 915,000 acres of land, 
of which 138,000 were improved in 1850.* The unim- 
proved land susceptible of cultivation is estimated at 
165,000 acres, leaving 612,000 acres for mountains, 
water, and roads. In 1850, Lancaster county, with 
400,000 acres of improved land, produced 1,365,000 
bushels of wheat, 1,800,000 bushels of corn, and 151,000 
bushels of rye, making the average production equal to 8 
bushels per acre. 

Columbia county, in 1850, with 90,000 acres of im- 
proved land, produced 154,000 bushels of wheat, 102,000 
bushels of rye, and 200,000 bushels of corn, equal to a 
fraction above 5 bushels to the acre. 

Wyoming county, with 46,000 acres of improved land, 
produced, in 1850, 62,000 bushels of wheat, 40,000 
bushels of rye, and 116,000 bushels of corn, equal to 5 
bushels per acre. This county produced also 211,000 
pounds of butter, and 21,000 pounds of cheese. 

In Luzerne county, in 1850, the average production of 
wheat, rye, and corn, was 4 bushels per acre ; of butter, 
558,000 pounds ; and of cheese, 92,000 pounds. 

The following table exhibits the agricultural produc- 
tions of Luzerne county, as taken by United States mar- 
shals, according to the census laws for the decades of 
1840, 1850, and 1860 : 

* 191,754 acres were improved in 1860. 



AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES. 



351 



Names. 


1840. 


1850. 


I860. 


Horses and Mules . 


6,933 


4,950 


7,061 


Horned Cattle 




•■ 


30,241 


18,797 


26,037 


Sheep 






52,415 


18,496 


18,452 


Swine 






37,037 


16,364 


19,346 


Bushels of Wheat 






244,239 


165,328 


61,764 


Bushels of Rye 






97,504 


125,604 


253,055 


Bushels of Corn 






252,235 


290,122 


478,605 


Bushels of Oats 






349,094 


287,797 


477,090 


Bushels of Barley 






45 


291 


619 


Bushels of Buckwheat 




131,923 


116,173 


244,264 


Bushels of Clover Seed 






997 


1,690 


Bushels of Potatoes 




384,217 


183,407 


368,975 


Barrels of Flour 




34,275 


18,000 


6,550 


Tons of Hay . 






34,240 


31,601 


46.761 


Pounds of Wool 






98,643 


49,372 


46,892 


Pounds of Butter 








558,568 


1,033,669 


Pounds of Cheese 








91,613 


56,193 


Pounds of Maple Sugar 




4,217 


19,758 


35,339 


Gallons of Whiskey 




6,250 






Distilleries 




5 


3 


3 



The cash value of the farms, in 1850, was $6,100,000; 
of farming implements and machinery, $236,000.* 

Wyoming county, which was set off in 1842, is, of 
course, included in the census of 1840 in the foregoing 
table. 

We give these statistics for present as well as for future 
comparison. They show conclusively that Luzerne, ten 
years ago, when in our opinion more attention was given 
to agriculture than at present, was far behind Lancaster 
county, and produced less, in proportion to the number 
of acres under cultivation, than Columbia on the south- 
west, or Wyoming on the north. What the census of 
1860 will exhibit we are unable to say, but we venture 
the assertion that the comparison will be yet more un- 
favorable for our county. While our population increases 
yearly, and we are becoming greater consumers, the 
inducements for improving our lands by lime and manures 
and the best modes of cultivation are made greater, and 

* Cash value of farms in 1860, $12,497,545. Farming implements and 
machinery, $342,186. 



352 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



it is to be hoped that Luzerne will throw off that wild 
spirit of speculation which has retarded her truest and 
most substantial interest.* 



MANUFACTURES. 

Agriculture and manufactures are twin sisters. They 
are always seen together, and hand in hand they yield 
each other mutual support. 

As has been stated before, the wives and daughters 
of the early settlers, and of their immediate descendants, 
were manufacturers of woolen, linen, and cotton cloth. 
Besides producing a substantial article, they could give it 
all the brilliant colors from butternut to federal blue. 
We believe some of the old spinning-wheels of the last 
century are still in existence. They cannot fail to be 
objects of curiosity to the fashionable young ladies of the 
present day, who would wonder how their grandmothers 
could use such uncouth machines. As to the vessel in 
which the coloring was done, we presume the soft and 
lily-handed fair ones would shrink from it with expres- 
sions of horror and disgust. 

The following table exhibits the number of looms and 
yards of cloth manufactured, in eight townships in the 
county, in 1810 : — 







Yards of 


Yards of 


Yards of 


Townships. 


Looms. 


Linen 


Woolen 


Cotton 






Cloth. 


Cloth. 


Cloth. 


Kingston 


25 


6135 


1827 


93 


Plymouth . 


42 


7847 


1762 


91 


Pittston 


28 


5740 


1690 


59 


Wilkesbarre 


33 


6531 


1717 


129 


Exeter 


31 


3771 


1394 


80 


Abington 


39 


2485 


1429 


34 


Providence . 


36 


5643 


1430 


147 


Hanover 


25 


5369 


1291 


60 



* Considering the increased number of cultivated acres in the last decade 
(53,754), our assertion in the foregoing pages will be found comparatively 
correct. 



AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES. 353 



The first carding-raachine of which we have any record, 
was one at the Old Forge, on the Lackawanna, owned by 
Mr. N. Hurlbut, in 1805, where wool was picked and 
carded at 8 cents per pound. The first fulling-mill in our 
borders, of which we have been able to obtain knowledge, 
was erected in Kingston township by Azor Sturdevant, 
who, in 1805, gave notice through the columns of the 
Federalist, that "London brown, chrome color, and federal 
blue, would be given to cloth in the best style." Li 1811, 
the business was conducted by Roswell Sturdevant and 
Samuel Breese, who also dressed cloth. Stephen Hollister, 
at the same time, had a carding-machine in Kingston. 
John Watters & Co. also owned one on the Lackawanna, 
in Providence township, and Frederick Crisman one in 
Hanover. Indeed most of the townships appear to have 
had a carding and picking machine, where the wool was 
prepared for the spinning-wheels of the industrious 
matrons and young women of the neighborhood. 

The 8 townships given in the foregoing table, con- 
tained, in 1810, 4556 sheep, the wool of which was 
manufactured into 12,540 yards of cloth. The number 
of inhabitants in these townships was 5800, and the 
number of looms was 259, or one loom to every three 
families, allowing 7 J persons to each family. This shows 
to what an extent homespun cloth was manufactured and 
worn in this valley in former years. In 1850, the num- 
ber of sheep in Luzerne was 18,496, producing 49,372 
pounds of wool, while Wyoming county, with only one- 
third as much improved land, contained 8809 sheep, bear- 
ing upwards of 20,000 pounds of wool. 

Columbia county had 8392 sheep, producing 23,394 

pounds of wool, and Susquehanna county had 42,971 

sheep, yielding 91,456 pounds of wool. When we reflect 

that Luzerne is as well adapted to wool growing as Wyo- 
23 



354 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



ming, and has advantages over Columbia in this respect, 
we find she should have had, in 1850, at least 28,000 
sheep, yielding from 75,000 to 80,000 pounds of wool. We 
suffer, in like manner, in a comparison with our neigh- 
bors, as to neat cattle. Luzerne contained 18,797, and 
Wyoming 8254 head. And so with respect to swine : 
^while Luzerne had 16,364, Columbia had 12,783. 

These are strong and unquestionable facts which speak 
against us. Luzerne, with great agricultural and manu- 
facturing advantages, with a population of from 80,000 to 
90,000, and with more territory than any other county 
in the Commonwealth, does not produce one-half of the 
grain, beef, and pork consumed by her inhabitants, nor 
does she furnish one-twentieth part of their wearing 
apparel. We are consumers, depending upon the coal 
trade to bring our food and raiment from abroad, while 
we might be producers to the full extent of our wants, 
supplying the demands of our coal and mining interests 
from our own soil, and retaining at home large sums for 
profitable investment, which are now annually sent out 
of the county. 

In 1812, Messrs. Buckingham, Cahoon, Tuttle & 
Parker erected a paper-mill on Toby's Creek, in Kingston 
township, near the present flouring-mill of Colonel Charles 
Dorrance, and the first paper manufactured was used in 
the printing-office of the " Gleaner" during the same year. 

In 1829, when the mill was owned by Matthias Hollen- 
back, Esq., 4 men, 1 boy, and 10 girls were employed, 
producing, when working on foolscap writing paper, 8 
reams per day ; when working on imperial printing paper, 
4 reams per day ; when on super royal, 5 reams ; and 
when on wrapping paper, 10 reams per day. The entire 
work, except preparing the rags, was performed by hand, 
and the annual sales of paper amounted to about $7000. 



AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES. 355 



It was the first and only paper manufactory ever erected 
in this county.^ It was abandoned several years ago, but 
it manifested the spirit and enterprise Cf the people of 
that day. 

In 1778, John and Mason F. Alden erected a forge on 
Nanticoke Creek, near Colonel W. Lee's grist-mill, in 
Newport township. It contained a single fire and one 
hammer. This hammer was brought from Philadelphia, 
in a wagon, to Harris's Ferry (Harrisburg), and thence 
up the Susquehanna in a boat. The iron ore of Newport 
produced about 35 per cent, of metal, and was manufac- 
tured into bar iron, affording the only supply for the 
smith-shops of that day. As to the quality of the iron, 
we have the testimony of several persons who used it, 
and who declared it to be of a superior sort, equal to the 
best bar iron of Centre county. In 1828, a short time 
before the works were abandoned. Colonel Lee, then 
owner, sold bar iron at $120 per ton of 2000 pounds. 

In 1789, Dr. William Hooker Smith and James Sutton 
erected a forge, with 2 fires and 1 hammer, at the 
falls in the Lackawanna river, now in Lackawanna town- 
ship. The forge yielded 400 pounds of iron in twelve 
hours, from the ore procured from the surrounding hills. 

In 1800, Benjamin and Ebenezer Slocum erected a 
forge on Roaring Creek, near Scranton, containing 2 fires 
and 1 hammer. They continued to forge bar iron, from 
the adjoining bog-iron ore vein, until 1828. 

In 1830, E. & J. Leidy erected a forge on the Nesco- 
peck Creek, in Nescopeck township, containing 2 ham- 
mers and 3 fires. They manufactured bar iron and 
blooms from the iron ore of Columbia county, and also 
from pig-metal. For several years, General Simon Came- 
ron was connected with this forge, which finally passed 
into the hands of S. F. Headley, Esq., who enlarged the 



356 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



buildin:^s, increased the number of fires, and conducted 
the business successfully. The works were in operation 
until 1854, since which time they have been unem- 
ployed. 

In 1811, Francis McShane erected a small cut-nail 
manufactory in Wilkesbarre, and used anthracite coal in 
smelting the iron. He conducted a successful business 
for several years, selling nails by wholesale, or retail, to 
suit purchasers. 

In 1836, George W. Little built a small charcoal fur- 
nace on Toby's Creek, near the site of the old paper-mill. 
The wood for the charcoal was procured from the neigh- 
boring hills and mountains, and the iron ore was brought 
from Columbia county in boats to Wilkesbarre, and carted 
thence to the furnace, about three miles, in wagons. Mr. 
Little and his successors, Benjamin Drake and others, 
found the business unprofitable, and after a few years the 
works were abandoned. 

In 1842, H. S. & E. Renwick, of New York city, 
erected an anthracite furnace, operated by steam-power, 
at Wilkesbarre, eight feet in the boshes. These gentle- 
men carried on the manufacturing of pig-iron for about 
one year, after which the furnace was suffered to lie idle 
until 1854. It was then purchased by John McCauley 
and the Messrs. Carter, of Tamaqua, who enlarged it and 
put it in blast. 

The iron ore and limestone were transported by canal 
from Columbia county ; and the works, under the direct 
management of Mr. McCauley, yielded six tons of iron 
per day. The establishment was consumed by fire in 
1856, and has not been rebuilt. 

In 1847, Samuel F. Headley, Esq., and the Messrs. 
Wilson, of, Harrisburg, erected a charcoal furnace, of 
water-power, eight feet in the boshes, at Shickshinny, 



AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES. 357 



and for several years manufactured a considerable quantity 
of superior pig-iron from the Columbia county and New- 
port ores, which they mixed. The charcoal iron of this 
furnace was sought after by the owners of foundries in 
Bradford and other counties, as being superior for stove 
purposes. In 1852, Messrs. Headley & "Wilson sold 
this furnace to William Koons. Mr. Koons built another 
furnace on Hunlock's Creek, Hi feet in the boshes, and 
capable of manufacturing 75 tons of pig-metal per week. 

In 1839, through the exertions of Mr. W. Henry, 
George W. and S. T. Scranton, Sanford Grant and P. H. 
Mattes were induced to visit Slocum Hollow or Capouse, 
now Scranton, with a view to purchase coal and iron ore 
land, and to erect an anthracite furnace. The land was 
purchased, and the furnace commenced in 1840. It was 
successfully blown, for the first time, in 1841. Since 
then other capitalists have united with the company, and 
three additional furnaces and a large rolling-mill have 
been erected. The size of the furnaces is respectively 
15, 17, 18, and 20 feet in the boshes; and they are 50 
feet in height, capable of producing 30,000 tons of pig- 
iron per annum. The first engine erected for blowing the 
original works is of immense size, the steam-cylinder being 
54 and the blowing-cylinder 110 inches in diameter, w^hile 
the fly-wheel weighs 40,000 pounds. To this there has 
been added the power of two other engines, with steam- 
cylinders of 59 and blowing-cylinders of 90 inches in 
diameter, and fly-wheels of 28 feet in diameter, weighing 
75,000 pounds. The rolling-mill is capable of making 
yearly from 15 to 20,000 tons of railroad iron, and 3000 
tons of merchant iron, and, with the furnaces, consumes 
100,000 tons of coal mined from the adjoining lands of 
the company. The iron ore mines of the company in the 
Moosic Mountain are connected with the works by a rail- 



358 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



road three miles in length; but a considerable quantity 
of ore is also procured from mines in New Jersey and 
New York, and is transported to the furnaces via the 
Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad. This is 
mixed with the Luzerne ore, and produces an excellent 
quality of iron, which has been fairly tested with English 
iron on the New York and Erie Railroad, and proved to 
be superior. These works, the result of a well-directed 
energy on the part of the Messrs. Scranton and their 
associates, laid the foundation of the flourishing town of 
Scranton, led to the construction of the Delaware, Lacka- 
wanna, and Western Railroad, and filled the valley of 
the Lackawanna with an industrious and thriving popu- 
lation. 

In 1840, Thomas Chambers, E. R. Biddle & Co., erected 
a large rolling-mill and nail factory, at South Wilkesbarre, 
about one mile from the court-house, at a cost of $300,000. 
While these works were in operation, during a year or 
two, Wilkesbarre increased in population and business ; 
but the establishment becoming involved, it was finally 
sold on a debt due the Wyoming Bank. It was pur- 
chased by the Montour Iron Company, and transported 
to Danville. It seems strange that our capitalists would 
allow these works to be sold for one-fifth their value, and 
to be conveyed away to a neighboring county. This cir- 
cumstance will act as a discouragement to others, who, 
looking to our location in the midst of a superior coal- 
field, might be inclined to establish manufactories here. 
It is beyond all question that a superior quality of iron 
can be profitably manufactured in Luzerne county by com- 
bining our ores with those of adjoining counties, or states. 
What are essential to success are intelligence, experience, 
and prudent management. Surely, the day cannot be 



AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES. 



359 



very distant when the smoke of scores of furnaces will 
ascend from the valleys of Wyoming and Lackawanna. 

In addition to the iron manufactories already men 
tioned, there are several foundries and stationary steam 
engine establishments in the county. We give the names 
of the proprietors, location, number of men employed, and 
capital invested. 



Proprietors. 


Location. 


Men employed. Capital. 


Lanning & Marshall 
R. Jones & Co. . . 
Lewis & McLean 
Strong & Wisner 
Mr. Conyngham 
Dixon & Co. . . . 
Clift Works . . . 
White Haven Works 






Wilkesbarre . . 
South Wilkesbarre 
Wilkesbarre . . 
Pittston . . . 
Pittston . . . 
Scranton . . . 
Scranton . . . 
White Haven . . 




60 
60 
20 
40 
30 
100 
25 
20 


$50,000 
30,000 
15,000 
25,000 
20,000 

100,000 

25.000 

8,000 


Total .... 










355 273,000- 



Besides these, there are several plow and stove foun- 
dries, which do not manufacture steam-engines ; and 
there are 5 machine-shops connected with railroads and 
iron works, constructing from 5 to 15 steam-engines per 
annum. In the borough of Providence, there is an axe 
and scythe manufactory, established by Pulaski Carter 
upwards of twenty years ago, and also one owned by J. 
White, each employing from 4 to 8 hands, and producing 
cutlery of an excellent quality. 

The first steam-engine manufactured in Luzerne, was 
made by Kichard Jones, in 1833, at Wilkesbarre. Richard 
was an ingenious young mechanic, and though he had 
never seen a steam-engine, except as represented in books, 
constructed one in miniature, with a cylinder li inches 
in diameter, and with a stroke of 3 inches. In 1835, at 
his suggestion, Joseph White, another ingenious work- 
man, built a small boat 6 J feet in length, with side- 



360 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



wheels, in which the engine made by Jones was placed. 
The boat was launched in the canal-basin, at Wilkes- 
barre, on the 4th of July, 1835. The engine was set in 
motion, and the little boat dashed through the water, 
amidst the cheers of a great crowd of boys, among whom 
was the author. 

The first engine constructed in the county for service 
(vas manufactured, in Wilkesbarre, by Benjamin Drake 
and J. C. Smith, in 1836. Its cylinder was 9 inches in 
diameter, with 3 feet stroke, and 15 horse power. It was 
placed in Smith's grist-mill in Plymouth. 

We have given a brief sketch of the several iron manu- 
factories in our county from 1778 to the present time, a 
period of eighty-eight years, and though the number is small 
and the increase slow, yet the fact is placed beyond doubt 
that properly managed establishments of this kind are re- 
munerative. They, who may desire to invest capital among 
us, for the manufacture of iron and iron machinery, need 
not do so in the dark. There is a record of encouraging 
facts, from which they may derive information, and there 
is the light of experience which will rescue such an enter- 
prise from the charge of being a mere experiment. 

The demand for powder, occasioned by the increased 
mining operations, has led to the erection of several mills 
in the county for its manufacture. 

George Knapp, G. P. Parrish & Co., built two powder- 
mills on Solomon's Creek, and four mills on Wapwallopen 
Creek, in Hollenback township. The capacity of the 
latter extends to 300 kegs per day, or 100,000 kegs per 
annum. Within a few years these mills have passed 
into the hands of the Messrs. Dupont, the celebrated 
powder manufacturers. 

George Damon & Co. have an extensive powder manu- 
factory at Old Forge, on the Lackawanna, which, hi con- 



AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES. 



361 



junction with those of the Duponts, and two or three 
smaller mills, chiefly supply the demands of the mines. 

The large quantities of hemlock and other bark, found 
on the head-waters of the Lehigh, and on other streams, 
induced a number of the capitalists in our large cities to 
erect tanneries convenient to these localities. Thither 
they transport the raw hides from the sea-board, and 
return the manufactured leather. The establishment of 
Maynard & Peck, at Duning in Madison township, is on 
a large scale. The main building is 350 feet in length, 
and 40 feet wide. The vats are of sufficient number and 
capacity to tan 50,000 hides per annum. The entire 
works are valued at $75,000. 



'■-iiO,.. 




TANNERY, AT GOULDSBOROUGH. 

In 1856, Zadock Pratt and Jay Gould erected a large 
tannery on the Lehigh at Gouldsborough, said to be the 
most extensive establishment of the kind in the United 
States. The two principal buildings are each 400 feet in 



362 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



length by 100 feet in width, with vats underneath and 
drying-rooms above. The estabhshment contains 70,000 
cubic feet of vat room, and 36,000 cubic feet of leach 
room. The machinery is propelled by water-power, and 
by a «team-engine of 75 horse-power, and 100 cords of 
bark can be ground in 24 hours. They manufacture 
75,000 sides of leather, at this tannery, in one year. 
These works cost $175,000. They are connected with 
the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad, by a 
plank-road 9 miles in length. 

The extensive tannery of Smull & Sons, located on the 
Lehigh 2 miles below White Haven, is within the limits 
of Carbon county, but receives a large portion of its supplies 
from Luzerne. The main building is 640 feet in length, 
by 45 feet wide. It contains 216 tan vats, besides soak- 
ing, leaching, and sweat vats. The machinery is pro- 
pelled by a steam-engine of 80 horse-power. It consumes 
annually 75,000 cords of bark. Four hundred hides are 
removed daily from the vats, and 400 others introduced. 
Forty men are employed in the building, besides those 
engaged in preparing the bark in the woods. The cost 
of the works is estimated at $155,000. 

The tannery of D. H. Morse is located in Fell town- 
ship. It is 360 feet in length, and 50 feet in width. It 
employs 25 men, and manufactures annually 45,000 hides 
into sole leather. 

The only point in the county, where the manufactur- 
ing of lumber is extensively carried on, at the present 
day, is on the Lehigh. In the chapter on " Navigation 
on the Susquehanna" we gave an account of the lumber 
trade, mainly its past history, and the transportation of 
rafts and arks on that river. We have reserved, for this 
chapter, the following statistics of saw-mills, on the Lehigh 
and its tributaries. We give the number of f^et annuall}' 
manufactured : — 



AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES. 



363 



Brown & Brothers, in Buck township, 2 mills, 4,000,000 

Day & Saylor, " " 2 " 2,000,000 

Temple Hines, « " 1 " 500,000 

Stoddartsville, . . . . 2 " 4,000,000 

Forest Company, . . . . 4 " 6,000,000 

White Haven, .... 4 " 6,000,000 

McKean & Pursel, at Bear Creek, 2 " 4,000,000 

Yohe & Co., at Black Creek, . . 2 " 1,000,000 

Other mills on the Lehigh, . . 4,000,000 

Total number of feet annually manufac- 

tured on the Lehigh, .... 31,500,000 

Add to this 1,000,000 feet manufactured by Hollen- 
back & Urquhart at Harvey's Lake, and transported 
thence in wagons, to Wilkesbarre, a distance of 12 miles, 
and also 1,000,000 feet manufactured by Jameson Harvey, 
C. Reynolds, and others, and we have 33,500,000 feet of 
lumber, chiefly pine, annually furnished from Luzerne 
county. The Lehigh lumber is conveyed to market 
through the works of the Lehigh Navigation*Company. 
Before their construction it was rafted down that rapid 
river. There were saw-mills on the banks of the Lehigh 
upwards of eighty years ago. 

The following table exhibits the number of men, and 
the amount of capital employed in' the manufacture of 
iron, lumber, and leather : — 





Men employed. 


Capital. 


Furnaces and Kolling Mills . . 

Lumbering 

Tanneries 

Foundries and Steam Engines . 


650 
500 
225 
355 


^650,000 

450,000 
550,000 
290,000 


1730 


1,940,000 



* Since the destruction of the Lehigh Navigation, this lumber has been 
conveyed to market by rail. 



CHAPTER XI I. 

MINERALS AND THE GOAL TRADE.* 

Coal was discovered in England in the year 853, but 
it was not mined or used until 1239, when Henry III. 
granted mining privileges to the inhabitants of Newcastle. 
It was soon introduced into London, but encountered 
opposition from the mass of the people, w^ho imagined it 
to be deleterious to health. They petitioned Parliament 
to prohibit its consumption in their city during the sitting 
of that body, assigning, as one reason, that it would 
endanger the health of the king. It is well known that 
the English coal is the bituminous variety, burning with 
considerable flame and smoke, but that it is an unhealthy 
fuel was a mere conceit of an ignorant age. Parliament, 
however, was induced to grant the prayer of the peti- 
tioners. . , 

In the United States the knowledge and use of anthra- 
cite coal do not, perhaps, extend back beyond one hundred 
years, and its introduction into general use has been 
gradual and difficult. It is possible that the Indians, 
at Wyoming, had some knowledge of the combustible 
nature of anthracite coal. Two chiefs from the valley^ 
in company with three others from the country of the Six 
Nations, visited England in 1710, and it is presumed 
they witnessed the burning of coal, then in general use in 
the cities of England, for domestic purposes. The con- 
sumption of black stones instead of wood, could not fail 

* For an account of efforts to discover coal-oil, see Appendix W. 
(364) 



MINERALS AND THE COAL TRADE. 865 



to make a deep impression on their minds, and they would 
naturally infer that this fuel was nearly allied to the 
black stones of their own country. The appearance of 
anthracite had long been familiar to their eyes. The 
forge or seven feet vein of coal had been cut through and 
exposed by the Nanticoke Creek, and the nine feet vein 
at Plymouth had been laid open to view by Ransom's 
Creek. The Susquehanna had exposed the coal at Pitts- 
ton, and the Lackawanna at several points along its 
banks. If the Indians, at that day, were ignorant of the 
practical use of coal, they were at least acqu-ainted with 
its aj)pearance, and not improbably with its inflammable 
nature. That the Indians had mines of some kind at 
Wyoming, the following account fully establishes : — In 
1766, a company of Nanticokes and Mohicans, six in 
number, who had formerly lived at Wyoming, visited 
Philadelphia, and in their talk with the governor, said, 
" As we came down from Chenango we stopped at Wyo- 
ming, where we had a mine in two places, and we disco- 
vered that some white people had been at work in the 
mine, and had filled canoes with the ore, and we saw 
their tools with which they dug it out of the ground, 
where they made a hole at least forty feet long and five 
or six feet deep. It happened that formerly some white 
people did take, now and then, only a small bit and carry 
it away, but these people have been working at the mine 
and filled their canoes. We inform you that there is one 
John Anderson, a trader, now living at Wyoming, and 
we suspect he, or somebody by him, has robbed our mine. 
This man has a store of goods, and it may happen that 
when the Indians see their mine robbed, they will come 
and take away his goods," &c. We are aware there is a 
deposite or vein of some mineral, a useless, silvery-looking 
substance, near the Susquehanna, above the mouth of the 



306 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Lackawanna, but we have no evidence that the Indians 
referred to this. The substance alluded to by the Indians 
had been carried away in small quantities, for some time, 
by the whites, perhaps to test its qualities, and it is highly 
improbable that it would have been afterwards removed 
by canoe-loads, unless it had been found to be a useful 
article. What could that useful article have been but 
coal ? There were settlements of whites on the Susque- 
hanna, a little below the site of the town of Northumber- 
land, several years before the period when these Indians 
had their talk with the governor, and the coal may have 
been taken there for blacksmithing purposes. 

In 1768, Charles Stewart surveyed the Manor of Sun- 
bury, on the west side of the Susquehanna, opposite 
Wilkesbarre, and on the original draft is noted " stone 
coal," as appearing in what is now called Rosshill. In 
1769, the year following, Obadiah Gore and his brother 
came from Connecticut with a body of settlers, and the 
same year used anthracite coal in his blacksniith-shop. 
We do not believe, as do some, that the Gores were the 
first whites who used anthracite on the Susquehanna for 
blacksmithing. Stone coal would not have been noted 
on the original draft of the Manor of Sunbury, if it had 
not been known to be a useful article. Hence, when the 
first settlers came into our valley, the evidence inclines 
us to believe the knowledge of the use of anthracite coal 
was communicated to them by the Indians, or by some 
of their own race. 

In 1776, two Durham boats were sent from below to 
Wyoming for coal, which was purchased from Mr. R. 
Geer, and mined from the opening, now the property of 
Mr. John Welles Hollenback, above Mill Creek. From 
Harris's Ferry, now Harrisburg, the coal, " about twenty 
tons," wa§ hauled on wagons to Carlisle, where it was used 



MINERALS AND THE COAL TRADE. 367 



m the United States' Armory, recently erected there. 
This was done annually during the Revolutionary War. 

Major George Grant, of Sullivan's army, writing from 
Wyoming, in 1779, says, "The land here is excellent, 
and contains vast mines of coal, lead, and copper." Science 
and subsequent investigation show us he was mistaken as 
to the lead and copper. 

But it may not be improper to state that Alexander 
Jameson, Esq ; of Salem, thqn a very aged man, informed 
the writer, years ago, that he had heard it said the Indians 
got lead in the Honeypot, near the Nanticoke Dam, and 
that there was silver in the same mountain range, known 
only to an old mineral smelter, who died twenty years 
ago on the West Branch of the Susquehanna. We have 
no confidence in the tradition. 

In 1791, Philip Ginther, while hunting, accidentally 
discovered coal at what is now called Mauch Chunk, and 
communicated the fact to Colonel Jacob Weiss, who pur- 
chased the land, and soon after carried specimens of the 
coal to Philadelphia in his saddle-bags. He exhibited 
them to several persons, who called them worthless black 
stones, and laughed at the colonel's folly. But Colonel 
Weiss was not discouraged. In 1792, he and others 
formed themselves into a company called the " Lehigh 
Coal Mine Company," the first of the kind in the United 
States. In 1803 the company succeeded in getting two 
ark-loads, about 30 tons, to Philadelphia, but no pur- 
chaser could be found. As a matter of experiment, the 
city authorities at length consented to take it. An 
attempt was made to burn it under the boilers of the 
steam-engine at the Water-works, but it only served to 
put the fire out. The remainder was then broken up, and 
scattered over the sidewalks, in place of gravel ! 

Up to this time the blacksmiths in the vicinity of the 



368 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



mines, wherever discovered, were using the coal in their 
shops. But no one had as yet discovered the art of con- 
suming anthracite for domestic purposes. This happy 
discovery was made, eventually, by Jesse Fell of Wilkes- 
barre. Mr. Fell was a native of Bucks county, and early 
removed to Luzerne, where he acted for many years as 
one of the associate judges of the county courts. Under- 
standing the composition of anthracite, or, as it was then 
called, stone-coal, he concluded that, a good draft of air 
was alone necessary to make it burn freely. He accord- 
ingly constructed a grate of green hickory saplings, and, 
placing it in a large fire-place in his bar-room, filled it 
with broken coal. A quantity of dry wood was placed 
under the grate and set on fire, and the flames spreading 
through the coal it soon ignited, and before the wooden 
grate was consumed the success of the experiment was 
fully demonstrated. A wrought iron grate was now con- 
structed, and set with brick and mortar in his fire-place, 
and was soon glowing with the burning stone-coal. The 
judge made the following memorandum at the time on 
one of the fly leaves of a book, entitled " The Free 
Mason's Monitor :" 

"February 11th, of Masonry 5808. Made the experi- 
ment of burning the common stone-coal of the valley, in 
a grate, in a common fire-place in my house, and find it 
will answer the purpose of fuel, making a clearer and 
better fire, at less expense, than burning wood in the 
common way. 

"February 11th, 1808. Jesse Fell." 

News of the successful experiment soon spread through 
the town and the country, and the people flocked to the 
old tavern of Judge Fell, of which he was proprietor and 
keeper, to witness the strange but simple discovery. 



MINERALS AND THE COAL TRADE. 



369 



Circle after circle gathered about the glowing and wonder- 
ful fire, and bowl after bowl of punch, and mug following 
mug of flip, were drank, with many kind expressions for 
the judge's health. Similar grates were soon constructed 
by his neighbors, and in a short time were in general use 
throughout the valley. The public-house, in which this 
memorable experiment was made, stood on the corner of 
Washington and Northampton streets. 





FELL H0TT9B. 



In the spring of 1808, John and Abijah Smith, having 
witnessed the successful experiment at Fell's tavern, 
loaded two arks with coal from the old Smith bed, on 
Ransom's Creek, in Plymouth, and took it down the river 
to Columbia ; but on offering it for sale, no person could 
be induced to purchase. They were compelled to leave 
the black stones behind them unsold, when they returned 
to their homes. The next year the Smiths, not dis- 
couraged by their former ill success, taking two arks of 
24 



370 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



coal and a grate, proceeded to Columbia. The grate was 
put up in the presence of spectators, and the practicability 
of using the black stones as a fuel was clearly demon- 
strated. The result was a sale of the coal and the 
establishment of a small trade. 

Colonel George Shoemaker, in 1812, discovered coal on 
the Schuylkill, and conveyed nine wagon-loads of it to 
Philadelphia, where he offered it for sale. He sold two 
loads by dint of great perseverance, to persons who 
afterwards denounced him as an impostor, for inducing 
them to purchase a worthless material. The other seven 
loads he gave away to such as promised to try to use it. 

In 1813, Colonel George M. Hollenback sent two four- 
horse loads of coal, from the mine now worked by 
Colonel H. B. Hilman, above Mill Creek, in this county, 
to Philadelphia ; and James Lee, Esq., in the same year, 
sent one four-horse load from Hanover to a blacksmith 
at Germantown. This was, probably, the first consider- 
able quantity of Wyoming coal which reached Philadel- 
phia and the vicinity. 

The pens of Charles Miner and of Jacob Cist, Esqs., of 
Wilkesbarre, were now busily employed in giving informa- 
tion on the use and value of anthracite coal. The news- 
papers of that day, published in New York, Philadelphia, 
and Baltimore, bear ample testimony to the ability with 
which the subject was commended to the public. Mr. 
Cist sent specimens of Wyoming coal to all the large cities 
in the Union, to England, to France, to Germany, and 
even to Russia. Messrs. Miner and Cist, having obtained 
the co-operation of John Robinson and Stephen Tuttle, 
Esqs., leased the Mauch Chunk mine, the most convenient 
to Philadelphia, in December, 1813. On the 9th of 
August, 1814, they started off the first ark from Mauch 
Chunk. "In less than eighty rods from the place of 



MINERALS AND THE COAL TRADE. 371 



starting, the ark struck on a ledge and broke a hole in 
her bow. The lads stripped themselves nearly naked, to 
stop the rush of water with their clothes." In six days, 
however, the ark reached Philadelphia, with its twenty- 
four tons of coal, which had by this time cost fourteen 
dollars a ton. " But," says Mr. Miner, " we had the 
greater difficulty to overcome of inducing the public to 
use our coal when brought to their doors. 

" We published hand-bills, in English and German, 
stating the mode of burning the coal, either in grates, in 
smiths' forges, or in stoves. Together we went to several 
houses in the city, and prevailed on the masters to allow 
us to kindle fires of anthracite in their grates, erected to 
burn Liverpool coal. We attended at blacksmiths' shops, 
and prevailed upon some to alter the Too-iron, so that 
they might burn Lehigh coal ; and we were sometimes 
obliged to bribe the journeymen to try the experiment 
fairly, so averse were they to learn the use of a new sort 
of fuel." 

The history of the introduction of anthracite, as a fuel, 
is not unlike the story of the countryman's dog-skin. His 
dog died, and taking the skin to town he offered it for 
sale. He found no purchaser. He next proposed to give 
it away, but found no one willing to take it as a gift. He 
then resolved to lose it, but a well-meaning old woman 
seeing it fall from his wagon, picked it up and ran after 
him with the information, " Mister, you have lost your 
dog-skin." Dashing it into his wagon, the countryman, 
in his vexation, swore he could neither sell, give it away, 
nor lose it. 

In 1812 an application was made to the legislature for 
a law for the improvement of the river Schuylkill. The 
coal on the head-waters of that river was held up as an 
inducement to the legislature to make the grant, when 



372 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



the senator from Schujlkill county rose in his seat and 
declared there was no coal there ; that there was a kind 
of a " black stone" that was called coal, but that it would 
not burn ! 

In 1817, some time after Messrs. Miner and Cist had 
abandoned the Lehigh project, the mines were leased by 
Josiah White and Erskine Hazzard, who had used the 
coal in their wire manufactory in Philadelphia. These 
shrewd, enterprising men foresaw that an extensive trade 
in coal would eventually arise in this state ; and to over- 
come the dangerous and difficult navigation of the Lehigh, 
Mr. White invented what is known as the bear-trap dams, 
so arranged as to create artificial floods, on which arks, 
loaded with coal, were conveyed to the Delaware. By 
this process Lehigh coal was sent to Philadelphia until 
the completion of the canal and slackwater navigation in 
1827. In 1820, which year is generally considered the 
date of the commencement of the coal trade, 365 tons of 
Lehigh coal supplied the market. In 1821, 1073 tons 
were mined; in 1822, 2240 tons; in 1823, 5523 tons; in 
1824, 9541 tons; and in 1825, 28,393 tons. In 1825 the 
Schuylkill region sent 6500 tons to market, at which 
period may be dated the commencement of the coal trade 
on the Schuylkill. 

In 1826 John Charles, a hunter, while digging for a 
ground-hog, discovered coal at what is now known as the 
old Hazelton opening, which led to further explorations, 
and finally to the organization of the Hazelton Coal Com- 
pany. This is the first company that was organized to 
work that portion of the Eastern Middle coal-field lying 
within the boundaries of Luzerne county. 

The demand for coal led to the construction of the 
Lehigh navigation, 74 miles in length, from Easton to 
Port Jenkins, at a cost of $4,455,000. The Beaver 



MINERALS AND THE COAL TRADE. 373 



Meadow Railroad, 26 miles long, and connecting with the 
Lehigh, cost $360,000; and the Beaver Meadow Com- 
pany, in 1837, sent 33,617 tons of coal to market. The 
Hazelton Railroad, 10 miles long, and connecting with 
the Beaver Meadow road, cost $120,000; and the Hazel- 
ton Company, in 1838, sent 16,221 tons of their coal 
to market. In 1839 the Sugarloaf Company shipped 
7350 tons; and, in 1840, the Buck Mountain Company, 
having completed their railroad, 4 miles in length, at a 
cost of $40,000, shipped 54 tons to market. Since 1840 
additional mines have been opened on the lands of the 
Hazelton Coal Company, now leased by A. Pardee & Co., 
who are also the lessees of the Diamond Company's Slope, 
and the Cranberry and Crystal Ridge Collieries, on lands 
of A. S. and E. Roberts. The Hazelton vein, worked by 
Mr. Pardee, yields about 17 feet of merchantable coal. 
At Jeansville there are 3 or 4 slopes, with 17 feet of 
merchantable coal, of which 17,773 tons were sent to 
market in 1846. These mines are connected with the 
Hazelton road by a railroad, 2h miles in length, and are 
now worked by Messrs. RandoljDli and Hampshire. 

At Stockton, Asa Packer, Esq., and Dr. M. B. Smith 
discovered coal on their land, a tract of about 800 acres. 
It was first opened, in 1851, by Packer, Carter & Co. 
There are 3 mines, now worked by Packer, Lockhart & 
Co., who employ 300 men and boys, and 54 head of 
horses and mules. In 1859 they shipped to market 
150,000 tons of coal. The average thickness of this 
merchantable coal is about 20 feet. 

In 1854 Messrs. Sharp, Leisenring & Co. commenced 
their extensive works at Eckley, which are connected 
with the Hazelton Railroad by a branch of the Lehigh 
and Luzerne road. In 1855 they shipped 2000 tons of 
coal to market, which, in 1859, was increased to 110,000 



374 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



tons. The average thickness of their merchantable coal 
is 12 feet. In addition to these there is a colliery at 
Mount Pleasant, worked by Messrs. Silliman & McKee, 
who also have works on the lands of the Big Black Creek 
Improvement Company. G. B. Markle & Co. have works 
at Jeddo, on lands of the Union Improvement Company. 
These several localities are now connected with the 
Hazelton Railroad by the completion of the Crystal 
.Ridge Tunnel, through which the first coal-train passed 
on the 29th of August, 1859. There passed through this 
tunnel, on the same day, the first regular passenger train 
from Wyoming to Philadelphia by the Lehigh route. 
The number of tons of coal cleared for market, in 1840, 
from this region, was 79,459 tons; in 1848, 247,887 tons. 

The amount of coal mined in the Eastern Middle field 
down to 1860 is 5,914,985 tons. 

The portion of the Eastern Middle coal field within the 
boundaries of our county, lies chiefly in Foster, Hazel, 
Sugarloaf, and Black Creek townships. The coal is 
deposited in basins, and, in the aggregate, occupies an 
area of about 10 square miles, or 6400 acres. The coal 
lands are principally owned by companies, who lease the 
mines to operators at rents varying from 20 to 30 cents 
per ton. An acre of first-rate coal land will yield to the 
owner about $6000, and to the operator an equal profit 
or a loss, as the scales of trade go up or down. 

We return now to the Susquehanna, and will proceed 
to give a brief account of the coal trade on that river, and 
also trace, as far as our limits will admit, the first de- 
velopements of the Northern or Wyoming and Lack- 
awanna anthracite coal-fields. Before entering on this 
narrative, however, a short paragraph in relation to 
bituminous coal may not be amiss. In 1785, Samuel 
Boyd, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, became the possessor 



MINERALS AND THE COAL TRADE. 375 



of a large tract of land in what is now Clearfield county, 
and upon which bituminous coal was discovered. In 
1803, William Boyd sent an ark-load of this coal to 
Columbia ; and in a few weeks thereafter, John Jordan 
sent down a second ark-load, and this was the first bitu 
minous coal which descended the Susquehanna. At this 
time, inconsiderable quantities of Liverpool coal were used 
in Philadelphia and Baltimore, 'and, consequently, the 
introduction of our bituminous coal, igniting as readily as 
the foreign variety, would have been comparatively easy, 
yet we have no evidence that the Clearfield coal was used 
in these cities until 1815. In that year Philip Karthauss 
descended the Susquehanna with three or four ark-loads 
to Port Deposit, whence it was shipped by sloops to Phila- 
delphia and Baltimore. We have no positive evidence 
that the Wyoming coal had been used in Baltimore prior 
to this attempt of Mr. Karthauss to introduce the bitu- 
minous variety. But the fact that John and Abijah 
Smith were engaged in the business of shipping coal, and 
in no other, from 1808 until 1825, renders it probable 
that some of our anthracite reached Baltimore shortly 
after its introduction into Columbia. The Smiths were 
energetic, persevering men, and it seems not improbable 
that they shipped coal from Port Deposit to Baltimore 
before the attempt of Karthauss in 1815. 

In 1813, Colonel G. M. Hollenback employed Daniel 
Gould to mine two ark-loads of coal from the bed above 
Mill Creek, at 75 cents per ton. In the fall of the same 
year, Joseph Wright, Esq., loaded two arks with coal 
from an opening near the present depot of the Pennsyl- 
vania Coal Company, at Pittston. It was from this open- 
ing that Ishmael Bennet dug coal as far back as 1775, to 
use in his blacksmith shop. 

About the same time (1813), General Lord Butler sent 



376 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



down the river 100 tons, mined from the old Baltimore 
bed, which, with that of Messrs. Hollenback and Wright, 
was the first coal from Wyoming to come in competition 
with Smith's at Marietta and Columbia. The price of 
coal at these places then ranged from $5 to $7 per ton. 

In 1814, Crandal Wilcox entered the trade, and sent 
several ark-loads of coal down the river from the old 
Wilcox mine, in Plains township. 

In 1820, Colonel Washington Lee discovered coal in 
Hanover, on the Stewart property, which he had pur- 
chased ; and in the same year he mined and sent to Bal- 
timore 1000 tons, which he sold at |8 per ton. White 
& Hazzard, the same year, shipped only 365 tons of 
the Lehigh coal to market. Up to this date the total 
amount of coal sent from Wyoming is reckoned at 85.00 
tons, while that from the Schuylkill and Lehigh regions 
did not exceed 2000 tons. And thus, it is seen, that in 
the year which dates the commencement of the coal trade, 
Wyoming sent to market a much greater quantity than 
the other portions of the anthracite field. 

In our valley, at this time, grates and coal stoves were 
in general use ; and Wilkesbarre was supplied with fuel 
from Lord Butler's mine at |3 per ton, delivered, while 
the farmers, each digging for himself, obtained their supply 
from the numerous imperfect openings in their several 
neighborhoods. 

In 1823, Colonel W. Lee and George Cahoon leased the 
Stivers mine in Newport, 14 feet vein, and employed 
Timothy Mansfield to mine and deliver 1000 tons of coal 
into arks at Lee's Ferry, at $1.10 per ton. Mansfield, 
notwithstanding he was a Yankee, did not understand 
coal mining ; for, instead of tunneling and blasting, he 
removed a heavy covering of earth and slate from the 
vein, and broke it down with large iron wedges, at a fear- 



MINEKALS AND THE COAL TRADE. 377 



ful cost to himself, as well as to his employers, who sold 
the coal at Columbia for $1500 less than cost. Scientific 
mining in those days was not well understood in America. 
Few, if any, practical European miners had yet reached 
our valley. We must, however, except Abraham Wil- 
liams, who emigrated to America from Wales in 1799. 
In 1805, this pioneer of the Luzerne mines made his 
appearance in the " Federalist," published at Wilkesbarre, 
in the following advertisement : — 

"The subscriber takes this method of informing the 
public that he understands miner's work. He has worked 
at it the greater part of 23 years in the mines of Wales, 
one year and a half in Schuyler's copper-mines in New 
Jersey, and three years in Ogden's in the same state. If 
anybody thinks there is any ore on his lands, or wants to 
sink wells, blow rocks or stones, he understands it wet or 
dry, on the ground or under the ground. 

" He will work by the day, or by the solid foot or yard, 
or by the job, at reasonable wages, for country produce. 

" He works cheap for country produce, 
But cash, I think, he won't refuse ; 
Money is good for many uses ; 
Despise me not nor take me scorn. 
Because I am a Welshman by my born. 
Now I am a true American, 
With every good to every man. 

" Abraham Williams." 

It will be seen that if Abraham was a good miner, he 
was somewhat deficient as a poet. 

As a class miners are too much given to dissipation, 
though there are many individual exceptions. They 
squander their earnings in riotous living, the result proba- 
bly of the life they lead. They go down into the bowels 
of the earth, and delve in its dark and gloomy workshops 



378 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



by the faint light of the lamps 
on their caps. The gloom and 
dampness which surround them, 
and the labor which exhausts 
them, depress their spirits. 
When they ascend to the upper 
world, the refreshing breeze and 
the genial light are not consi- 
dered sufficient to revive their 
drooping hearts, and the aid of 
intoxicating drinks is invoked 
to drive away dull care. They 
are a most useful people, pos- 
sessing many excellent traits 
of character, and deserve more 
. attention from the missionary 
and the philanthropist than they have hitherto received. 




" Do not despise the miner lad, 
Who burrows like the mole, 

Buried alive, from morn till night 
To delve for household coal. 

Nay, miner lad, ne'er blush for it, 

Though black thy face be as the pit." 



I 
/ I 



i 



-J> 



} 



COAL BREAKER. 



MINERALS AND THE COAL TRADE. 



379 



We return to our narrative. From 1823 to 1829 the 
Susquehanna coal trade increased with considerable rapid- 
ity. The completion of the canal, then under contract 
up to Nanticoke, promised new and enticing facilities for 
the transportation of coal to market. The attention of 
Baltimore capitalists was directed to the Wyoming coal- 
field, and in July, 1829, Thomas Simington, Esq., of that 
city, purchased the Lord Butler mine, 410 acres of land, 
for $14,000, or less than |35 per acre. Soon after this 
the Baltimore Coal Company was formed. 








, , . »! ^ 1-,- li- ^ . 
■ 1 , f 





BALTIMORE COMPANY S COAL OPENIKG. 



The completion of the canal to the Nanticoke dam, in 
1830, gave a great impetus to business in this part of the 
state, which was further increased by the Tide Water 
Canal, constructed to avoid the dangerous navigation of 
the Susquehanna from Columbia to tide. In 1834, the 
canal was completed to the Lackawanna, affording facili- 



380 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



ties for sending the Pittston coal to market. A coal-bed 
was opened in a bluff, near the eastern end of the Pittston 
bridge, by Calvin Stockbridge, in 1828, and during three 
years he sent about 2000 tons down the Susquehanna in 
arks. Mr. Wright, of Plymouth, as already stated, had 
taken out coal at Pittston as early as 1813, but Mr. 
Stockbridge was the first resident coal operator in that 
place. 

In 1838, Garrick Mallery and John and Lord Butler, 
Esqs., opened their mines at Pittston, connecting them 
with the canal by a railroad one mile and eight hundred 
feet in length, and in 1840 they shipped their first coal 
from Pittston by canal. 

The completion of the Lehigh and Susquehanna Eail- 
road, in 1843, connecting Wilkesbarre with White Haven, 
promised another outlet to market for Wyoming coal. 
These improvements, together with the discovery of the 
methods of generating steam on boats, and of smelting iron 
in furnaces, by the use of anthracite, created a great and 
increasing demand for coal in all quarters of the state, 
and in the seaports of the country generally. At this 
time the coal operators in the valley and vicinity were, 
Washington Lee, Jameson Harvey, Freeman Thoma.s, 
Thomas Pringle, Henderson Gaylord, John Turner & Sons, 
J. B. Smith, Mallery & Butler, Boukley & Price, John 
Blanchard, David Lloyd, Jonathan Jones, The Baltimore 
Company (Alexander Gray, agent), Nathan Beach, who 
opened his mine in the Rocky Mountain, below Shick- 
shinn}^, about the year 1828, and the Wyoming Coal Com- 
pany (S. Holland, H. B. Hillman & Alexander Lockhart)f 

In 1838, the Wyoming Company connected their lands, 
500 acres in Hanover, with the Nanticoke pool or slack- 
water, by a railroad 2 miles in length, and a basin, at a 
cost of $22,700. They shipped their first coal in 1840, 

* For names of coal companies and operators in 1865, see Appendix W. 



MINERALS AND THE COAL TRADE. 381 



and in 1847 Colonel Hillman shipped 10,000 tons of coal 
from the old Blackman and Solomon Gap or Ross mines 
to New York and Philadelphia, via the Susquehanna and 
Lehigh Railroad, &c. This was the first considerable 
amount of coal sent from the valley by that route. 

In 1842, Wyoming sent to market 47,346 tons of coal; 
in 1843, 57,740 tons; in 1844, 114,906 tons; in 1845, 
178,401 tons; in 1846, 166,923 tons, and in 1847, 285,462 
tons. (See Appendix W.) 

In 1850 the Pennsylvania Coal Company completed 
their railroad to Hawley, and commenced shipping coal 
from Pittston to New York. This, with the exception of 
the Delaware and Hudson, is the largest company in Lu- 
zerne. It owns about 10,000 acres, of which 6000 are coals 
lands, and ships annually about 600,000 tons to market.* 

The North Branch Canal was completed in 1856, con- 
necting us with the New York improvements, and during 
the fall of that year 1150 tons of coal were sent up to West- 
ern New York. In 1857, 2274 tons passed up to the same 
destination; in 1858, 38,947 tons; and in 1859, 51,914 
tons. By the extension of the Lackawanna and Blooms- 
burg Railroad to Northumberland, and the finishing of the 
lateral roads connecting with the Susquehanna and Lehigh 
Railroad, all of which has been accomplished at the 
present date, and Wyoming coal is now transported by 
rail and canal to all the inland and seaboard cities of the 
country. The amount shipped from the Wyoming coal- 
field may be reckoned as follows : from 1808 to 1830, 
48,500 tons; from 1830 to 1840,350,000 tons; from 
1840 to 1850, 1,407,554 tons; and from 1850 to 1860, 
we estimate the amount at 4,079,053 tons, exclusive of 
that mined in the valley by the Pennsylvania Coal Com- 
pany J- The total amount mined in the Wyoming Val- 
ley down to 1860, is 10,293,376 tons. 

* From 1860 to 1865 inclusive, the amount shipped was 9,209,768 tons. 



382 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



The shaft of the Dundee Company, in Hanover town- 
ship, has been sunk to the perpendicular depth of 792 
feet, where the Nanticoke or Mill vein was struck, which 
is 12 feet in thickness. It is the first vein below the sur- 
face, and the sixth from the bottom. This proves the 
truth of the theory that the flats or lowlands in the valley 
are underlaid with coal. 

We proceed now to the Lackawanna coal-field. Wil- 
liam Wurts, a merchant of Philadelphia, having, proba- 
bly, read the numerous communications of Mr. Miner 
and of Mr. Cist, on the subject of anthracite, published 
in the city newspapers, began to explore the Lackawanna 
region as early as 1812. Under the guidance of C. E. 
Wilbur, an early settler there, he found coal at Carbon- 
dale, and at other points along the Lackawanna river. 
In 1814, Mr. Wurts and his brother Maurice, purchased 
land about Carbondale and Archbald, at prices varying 
from $2 to $5 per acre. In the following year, they 
hauled two sled-loads of coal to Jones' Creek, a tributary 
of the Wallenpaupack, and placing it on a small raft 
started for the Delaware. But the raft was wrecked, and 
the coal emptied into the bed of the stream. Sometime 
after this, they took several tons to the Lackawaxen, and 
placing it on rafts, constructed of pine-logs, succeeded in 
reaching the falls of that stream ; thence it was conveyed 
in a small ark to the Delaware, and to Philadel]3hia. 

In 1822, they began operations at Carbondale, and 
mined 800 tons from the old opening in the 3d Ward, 
100 tons of which they hauled in ox-teams to the Le^cka- 
waxen, and conveyed thence on rafts and arks to Phila- 
delphia. There they now came in competition with the 
Lehigh coal, and this circumstance led the Messrs. Wurts 
to direct their attention to the New York market. This 
was followed by the conception of the Delaware and Hud- 



MINERALS AND THE COAL TRADE. 



son Canal, which was surveyed in 1824, commenced in 
1826, and completed in 1828. Carbondale was imme- 
diately connected with this improvement by a railroad, 
and, in 1829, 7000 tons of coal were shipped thence to 
the New York market. From that day to the present, 
the mighty company of the Delaware and Hudson Canal 
and Railroad has stretched its arms like seas, and encom- 
passed thousands of acres of first-rate coal land, at prices 
varying from |30 to $300 per acre. The company gives 
employment to many thousands of people. From 1830 
to 1839, inclusive, it sent to market 854,430 tons of coal, 
and from 1840 to 1849, 2,958,458 tons.* 

Scranton was connected with the New York and Erie 
Railroad at Great Bend, in 1851, by the construction of 
the Northern Division of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and 
Western road, which gave the lower Lackawanna coal- 
basin its first outlet. In 1856, the southern division of 
that road being completed, Scranton was connected with 
New Jersey and the city of New York. In consequence 
of this improvement, and the construction of the Lacka- 
wanna and Bloomsburg Railroad, the vast body of coal- 
lands lying along both banks of the Lackawanna, and 
south-west of the lands of the Delaware and Hudson 
Company, has been brought into market, and its resources 
are now being developed with astonishing energy. The 
amount of coal sent from this locality to market in 1851 
was 6000 tons, and in 1859, about 800,000 tons.* The 
number of tons mined in the Lackawanna Valley down 
to 1860 is 12,552,025. 

According to Professor Rogers, who says he measured it, 
the northern coal-field (see dotted line on the accompany- 
ing county map) extends in length 50 miles, from Beach's 
mine, one mile below Shickshinny, to a point some dis- 

* See Appendix, W. 



384 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



tance above Carbondale, and contains 177 square miles. 
The veins of coal vary in number from two to eight accord- 
ing to location, and in thickness from 1 to 28 feet. Taking 
the most reliable data we can obtain, we estimate this 
entire field to contain about 2,285,600,000 (two billions 
two hundred and eighty-five millions six hundred thou- 
sand) tons of good merchantable coal. Add to this 
128,000,000 tons, the estimated amount in that portion 
of the eastern middle coal-field lying in Luzerne, and we 
have a total of 2,413,600,000 (two billions four hundred 
and thirteen millions six hundred thousand) tons. This 
quantity, valued in the mine at 30 cents per ton, is equal 
to 1724,080,000, or valued at the pit's mouth at $1.50, it 
would be worth $3,620,400,000 ; a greater sum of money 
than California could send us in 300 years, at the rate 
of more than $1,000,000 a month, or exceeding $30,000 
a day. 

The total area of the anthracite fields of Pennsylvania, 
which include all of this variety of coal in the United 
States of any value, is 409 square miles, of which 187 
lie within the limits of our county. The total amount 
of anthracite in all the coal-fields of the state has been 
liberally estimated at 5.500,000,000 (five billions five 
hundred millions) tons. From these fields there were 
mined, in 1830, about 175,000 tons; in 1835, 560,000 
tons; in 1842, 1,108,000 tons; in 1850, 4,800,000 tons; 
and in 1856, 6,751,542 tons. For 1859 the number of 
tons of anthracite and semi-bituminous coal mined in the 
state was 8,737,766 tons, of which 3,500,000 tons were 
taken from the mines of Luzerne. The total amount 
of anthracite mined in this county down to 1860, is 
29,060,386 tons.* That mined in the whole state amounts, 
to the same date, to 83,374,869 tons. At this rate, how 
long will our anthracite last? England uses 65,000,000 

* For amount mined since 1859, see Appendix W. 



MINERALS AND THE COAL TRADE. 385 



tons of her coal amiaallj, of which 10,000,000 tons are 
consumed under her steam-engines. Such a drain on our 
coal-fields would exhaust them in less than 85 years. 
But if we estimate the consumption of our anthracite as 
averaging about 15,000,000 of tons annually, from this 
date, it will last more than 420 years. At the present 
rate of increase, it will not be many years before the 
amount of anthracite mined in Pennsylvania will reach 
15,000,000 of tons annually. 

Coal lands in England sell at from $3000 to $4000 per 
acre, while those in Luzerne bring only from $100 to $300 
per acre. The difference in price is mainly attributable 
to the demand being greater there than in this countiy. 
As the demand for anthracite increases here, the prices 
of our coal acres must advance. It is impossible to say 
what is the annual capacity of our coal-fields, or to esti- 
mate the increasing expense of mining, or to conjecture, 
with a show of probability, how far the bituminous variety 
will come in competition with the anthracite, all of which 
circumstances will modify the prices of coal lands. But 
it is evident to every observer that the day is not distant 
when our coal acres will command a much higher price 
than they do now. 

To the man of science, the geologist and mineralogist, 
a visit to the coal-fields of Luzerne is replete with interest. 
The fossil remains of vegetables and animals are found in 
abundance, and not unfrequently specimens of the most 
perfect and interesting character. In the Baltimore mine, 
near Wilkesbarre, a stone forest may be seen — immense 
trees, the trunks and roots of which are perfect and dis- 
tinctly visible.'^ From several shafts, at a depth of from 
200 to 800 feet, there have been taken many interesting 
fossils, which are preserved in the cabinet rooms of the 

"" The stump of one of these trees may be seen in the vestibule of the 
court-house at Wilkesbarre. 
25 



J86 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Wyoming Historical and Geological Society at Wilkes- 
barre. To enter into a description of these, and of the 
interior of the mines, extending from 1000 to 8000 feet 
into the crust of the earth, and also of the coal crackers, 
screens, schutes, &c., used for preparing and loading the 
coal into boats and cars, would occupy more space than 
we have allotted to this chapter. Millions of money are 
expended, thousands of miners are employed, the dangers 
of damps, spontaneous combustion, and falling of the 
mines, are encountered to supply us with the ''black 
stones," which were rejected as worthless less than half a 
century ago. It is foreign to the character of this work 
to speculate on the origin of coal, and the geological con- 
ditions under which its formation took place; but the 
strata of the earth, like the leaves of an instructive 
volume, contain the history of our planet, and though 
man has scarcely, as yet, mastered the alphabet of the 
language in which it is written by the finger of God, still 
he can decipher sufficient to know that the knowledge 
therein preserved is of the most interesting nature. 

We close this chapter with a brief account of the iron 
ore of Luzerne. 

Iron ore of various qualities has been discovered in 
Salem, Union, and Kingston townships, on the west side 
of the Susquehanna, and in Newport and Wilkesbarre 
townships on the east side ; also, along the Lackawanna, 
and in the Moosic Mountain. The Salem bog-ore, vein 
2 feet thick, may be seen on the estate of the late Alex- 
ander Jameson, Esq., 15 miles north-east of the Bloom- 
burg iron ore mines. This ore has never been tested. 
The Union ore, vein 18 inches, is found in the Shick- 
shinny Mountain, 6 miles north-east of Salem. It was 
tested at Danville, and yielded 28 per cent, of iron. The 
Kingston ore, in Hartzoff"s Hollow, 14 miles north-east 
of Union, is found iA'.rhe vespertine series, 500 feet below 



MIJSERALS AND THE COAL TRADE. 387 



the serai conglomerate. There are two veins here, sepa- 
rated by 5 feet of rock, the first being from 1 to 2 feet 
thick, and the upper one 4 feet. The ore is ponderous, 
silicious, and of a black color. 

The Newport ore is 1 mile east of Union, and underlies 
an eight feet coal vein. There are three diiferent veins 
of this ore: one, ball-ore, 20 inches in thickness; one, 
stratified, 14 inches ; and one, cubical stratified, 6 inches. 
This ore was worked in a forge, at Nanticoke, for more 
than 40 years, and was also used by S. F. Headley, Esq., 
with the Bloomsburg ore, in his furnace, at Shickshinny. 
It yields 35 per cent. 

The Lackawanna and Moosic Mountain iron ore mines 
are connected by rail with the Scranton Iron Works. 
There are two veins or layers in fire clay, one ball-ore 12 
inches, and the other 18 inches in thickness. It has been 
worked advantageously at Scranton, when mixed with 
New York and New Jersey ores. It yields 35 per cent., 
and was used in forges many years ago. A thorough 
exploration of our county would, probably, discover both 
iron and limestone beyond the Wyoming coal-field, to the 
west and north-west. Many years ago, an imperfect 
limestone was found in the Little Wyoming Mountain, in 
Newport township. In 1831, several hundred bushels of 
it were burnt and used on the land. 

Iron can now be manufactured in Wyoming Valley at 
$15 per ton, the ore and limestone being brought by canal 
or railroad from Columbia county. The proportions of 
the cost would be as follows : — 

2 J tons of iron ore by canal, . . . . $6.96 

2 tons of coal, 3.00 

i ton of limestone, . . . , . 1.40 

Labor, furnace, &c., 3.64 

$15.00 



388 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



The increasing demand for anthracite will increase the 
price, and when the figure shall have advanced to about 
$3 per ton at the pit's mouth, the smoke of a hundred 
furnaces will arise from our valleys. Iron ore, if not pro- 
cured within our own borders, will be brought from 
abroad, for it will be more economical to manufacture the 
metal in the locality of" the fuel than elsewhere. The 
most careless observer must be impressed with the vast 
resources of Luzerne. It needs no prophet's ken to dis- 
cern the gigantic enterprises, the great accumulation of 
capital, and the dense population of the future. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

NEWSPAPERS, BOOKS, POETRY, LITERARY AND BENE- 
FICIAL SOCIETIES. 

" Turn to the press, its teeming sheets survey, 
Big with the wonders of each passing day, 
Births, deaths, and weddings, forgeries, fires, and wrecks. 
Harangues and hailstorms, brawls and broken necks." 

The art of printing was discovered by John Gutten- 
berg, a German, in 1436, at Strasburg, but was consider- 
ably improved by John Faust and Peter SchaefFer. 

This noble invention was, at first, deemed so extra- 
ordinary, that those who sold some of the early publica- 
tions at Paris were pronounced magicians, and the books 
were committed to the flames. We may well regret that 
the Greeks and Romans were ignorant of this art, for if 
it had been known to them, a vast storehouse of ancient 
wisdom and learning, now irrevocably lost, would have 
come down to us. But we have a security in the press, 
that the arts and sciences without material interruption 
will be perpetuated from age to age, and that nothing 
useful or indeed refined can ever again be lost amid the 
irruption of barbarians and the overthrow of empires. 

The first printed newspaper was issued in 1524, and 
like the art itself was a German production. Prior to 
this, newspapers were written and publicly read at speci- 
fied times and places. The hearers paid each a certain 
sum of money for the privilege of being present. In 
Italy, a paper of this character was called Gazetta, from 

(389) 



390 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



the name of the coin paid by the listener, from which is. 
derived our word gazette. 

The first printed English newspaper was issued in 
. London, in 1588, and was called " The English Mercury." 
The earliest newspaper in North America was the " Boston 
News Letter," issued April 24th, 1704. In 1720, there 
were 7 newspapers in the American Colonies, and, in 1775, 
35, of which 9 were issued in Pennsylvania. 

In 1850, the number of newspapers and periodicals in 
the United States was 2526 — of newspapers alone, 2302. 
In the state of Pennsylvania, the number of newspapers, 
at present, is 297, of which 9 are issued in Luzerne 
county, 7 English and 2 German. 

In 1795, two young men, whose names are unknown, 
came to Wilkesbarre from Philadelphia with a small press 
and a few cases of type. They printed " The Herald of 
the Times," the first newspaper published in the county. 
Prior to this date, all notices, advertisements, &c., were 
put up on the town sign-posts, the first of which was 
erected in Wilkesbarre, in 1774, on the river bank. 
" The Herald of the Times" was issued for a short period, 
and was then sold by the proprietors to Thomas Wright, 
and published by Josiah Wright under the name of the 
" Wilkesbarre Gazette." The first number was dated 
November 29th, 1797, and bore the following motto : — 

" Let party rage, let malice vent her spite, 
Truth we'll revere, and we shall e'er be right." 

The Gazette, though a small, was a well-edited paper. 
It was 10 by 16 inches in size, a little larger than a sheet 
of foolscap paper, and, at $2 per annum, was sustained 
by upwards of 300 subscribers. In 1801 it ceased to be 
published. In the last numbers of the paper Mr. Wright 
gave the following notice : — " I intend to send a boat 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 391 



u}) the river in March or April next, to receive the 
grain that may have been collected on account of news- 
papers." , 

In 1801, Asher Miner established " The Luzerne 
Federalist," at Wilkesbarre, and the first number was 
issued on the 5th of January. Mr. M. was a practical 
printer, having served seven years with Master Green. 
He had worked in the office of the Gazette, and, it 
appears, won at the same time the affections of his em- 
ployer's daughter, Miss Wright, whom he afterwards 
married. The Federalist was a larger paper than the 
Gazette. Still it was of very moderate dimensions, for 
two reams of its paper were placed in an ordinary bag 
and conveyed on horseback from the paper-mill in Allen- 
town to Wilkesbarre ; and this was done once in two 
weeks. The press on which the Federalist was printed 
was brought from Norwich, Conn., on a sled, by Charles 
Miner and S. Howard. In reference to this circumstance, 
the venerable Mr. Miner thus speaks in his late letter to 
the Pioneer Society : " So strange a piece of machinery 
was a wonder along the road — the thousand and one 
inquiries — What is it? His patience being exhausted, 
Mr. Howard was wont to reply, " We are taking it to 
Wyoming. They are terribly troubled there with mice, 
and this is timber for mouse-traps." In 1802, Charles 
became associated with Asher Miner in conducting the 
Federalist, which they ably edited until 1809, when it 
was transferred to Steuben Butler and Sidney Tracy. 
These latter gentlemen, in 1811, enlarged the paper, and 
changed its name to " The Gleaner," with the motto, 
" Intelligence is the life of liberty." The editors, in their 
address to the public, said, " We intend to make ' The 
Gleaner' as great a favorite with the people as Ruth ever 
was with the liberal and gallant Boaz, and we hope, like 



392 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



her, ' The Gleaner' will find favor in the readers' eyes, 
and that the measures of barley will not be forgotten." 
The Federalist had been the organ of the party bearing 
that name, and the change of name to " The Gleaner" did 
not alter its political character. In a few months Mr. 
Tracy withdrew from the establishment, and was suc- 
ceeded by Charles Miner, who, in connection with Mr. 
Butler and others, ably conducted " The Gleaner" until 
1818, when the enterprise was abandoned. 

" The Susquehanna Democrat" was established in 
Wilkesbarre, by Samuel Maffet, in 1810, with the follow- 
ing motto : " The support of the state governments, in 
all their rights, is the most competent administration for 
our domestic institutions, and the surest bulwark against 
anti-republican tendencies."^ It was the organ of the 
Democratic party, and was of the same size as the 
Gleaner, being 11 by 17 inches. Both of these papers 
were exceedingly warm in the advocacy of their princi- 
ples and views, and they were accustomed to pour the 
hot shot into each other with no unsparing hand. Espe- 
cially was this the case on the approach of an election, 
and when offices were to be filled. 

In 1824 the "Democrat" was sold to S. D. Lewis and 
Chester A. Colt, and by them published until 1831, when 
Mr. Lewis sold his interest to Luther Kidder. In 1832 
Colt sold to Conrad, who transferred his interest to Mr. 
Kidder, who became the sole editor and proprietor. In 
1833 Mr .Kidder sold to James Rafierty and C. Edwards, 
who issued the paper about one year, when it was pur- 
chased by Dr. Christel & Co., in whose hands it expired. 

" The Wyoming Herald" was established in Wilkes- 
barre, by Steuben Butler, in 1818, soon after " The 
Gleaner" had ceased to be published, and beneath its title 
was placed the appropriate words — 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 393 



" He comes, the herald of a noisy world, 
News from all nations." ' 

This paper exhibited a marked improvement in its ma- 
terials and workmanship on its predecessors, but was still, 
like them, published weekly, at $2 per year in advance. 
In 1828 it was enlarged, and published by Butler & 
Worthington until 1831, when Mr. W. withdrew, and 
Asher Miner became associated with Mr. Butler. This 
copartnership continued until 1833, when the establish- 
ment passed into the hands of Eleazar Carey and Robert 
Miner. These gentlemen conducted the paper until 1835, 
at which time it was merged in " The Wyoming Repub- 
lican." 

" The Wyoming Republican" was established in King- 
ston, in 1832, by S. D. Lewis, and was edited with ability 
by that gentleman until 1837, when the press and mate- 
rials were sold to Dr. Thomas W. Miner, and removed to 
Wilkesbarre. Dr. M., in conjunction with Miner S. 
Blackman, edited and published the " Republican" until 
1839, at which period it was purchased by S. P. Collings, 
and united with " The Republican Farmer." We feel 
that we hazard nothing in saying that the " Republican," 
from its birth until its death, was one of the best and 
most ably-conducted papers in the country, and no one 
can peruse its old files without lively interest and admi- 
ration. 

" The Republican Farmer" was established in Wilkes- 
barre, by Henry Pettibone and Henry Held, in 1828, and 
in 1831 Mr. P. sold his interest to J. J. Adam. In 1833 
the materials were purchased by B. A. Bidlack and Mr. 
Atherholt, and in 1835 it became the property of S. P. 
Collings, who remained its editor and proprietor until 
1852, when the establishment passed into the hands of 
S. S. Benedict, and was merged in " The Luzerne Union." 



594 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



The " Farmer" was a thorough democratic paper, and, 
besides the talents of its able editors, it was sustained by 
the literary and political contributions of several distin- 
guished gentlemen. In its columns may be found articles 
from the pens of Andrew Beaumont, Judge Scott, Dr. T. 
W. Miner, and others. Two of its editors became repre- 
sentatives of the United States government in for'^'^n 
lands, and died in the service of their country. Bidlack 
lies buried in South America, and the bones of Collings 
are beneath the sands of Africa. 

" The Luzerne Democrat" was established in Wilkes- 
barre, in 1845, by L. L. Tate, and was afterwards sold 
to Chester Tuttle. In 1852 it became the property of 
S. S. Benedict, who changed its name to " The Luzerne 
Union." In 1854 it passed into the possession of S. S. 
Winchester. In 1855 Mr. Winchester sold to Mr. Bosea, 
who shortly after transferred it to Waelder & Neibel. 
They, in 1858, sold to E. S. Goodrich, who sold in 
1859 to Mifflin Hannum, and he sold in 1865 to W. H. 
Hibbs. 

" The Daily Telegraph," the first and last daily news- 
paper in the county, was commenced at Wilkesbarre, in 
1852, by E. Collings & H. Brower. It survived eight 
weeks, and was then sold to M. B. Barnum & W. H. 
Beaumont, who started " The True Democrat" in opposi- 
tion to " The Luzerne Union." In 1853 the name was 
changed to " The Democratic Expositor," edited by James 
Raferty. In 1855 the materials were removed to Scran- 
ton, and the " Spirit of the Valley" was issued by Messrs. 
Alleger & Adams. 

In 1840, " The Northern Pennsylvanian" was issued 
at Wilkesbarre, by W. Bolton, and after one year it was 
removed to Tunkhannock. 

" The Anti-Masonic Advocate" was established in 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 395 



Wilkesbarre, bj Elijah Worthington, in 1832, with the 
motto : — 

" Pledged but to truth, to liberty, and law, 
No favor sways us, and no fear shall awe." 

In 1835, the press was sold to Eliphalet Worthington, 
who published the paper one year, and sold to J. Foster. 
In 1838, Mr. Foster sold to Amos Sisty, who changed 
the name to " The Wilkesbarre Advocate," and for several 
years edited and published it with distinguished ability, 
often furnishing its columns with genuine and beautiful 
poetry from his own pen. " Liberty and union, one and 
inseparable, now and for ever," was his motto ; and he 
adhered to the principle therein expressed with peculiar 
tenacity until his death. In 1843, the paper passed into 
the hands of S. D. Lewis, and, in 1853, Mr. L. sold to W. 
P. Miner, who changed the name to " The Record of the 
Times," under which title Mr. M. continues to publish 
one of the best papers in the country. 

" The Democratic Watchman," a German paper, was 
established in Wilkesbarre, in 1841, by J. Waelder, and, 
in 1851, it was sold to R. Baur, who is still the editor 
and proprietor. 

"The Truth" was first issued in Wilkesbarre, in 1840, 
by B. C. Denison, and in a few weeks was enlarged to 
super-royal size, and called " The Democratic Truth." 

"The Literary Visitor," royal octavo size, was esta- 
blished in Wilkesbarre, by Steuben Butler, in 1813, and 
was continued until July, 1815. It was an able literary 
paper. 

" The Wasp," a small Paul Pry sheet, was published 
in Wilkesbarre, in 1840, by Burdock & Boneset, and 
edited by Nicholas Nettle. It bore as its motto, — 

" Laugh when we must, be candid when we can." 



396 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



" The People's Grubbing Hoe," a Harrison campaign 
paper, was issued in 1840, at Wilkesbarre, by A. Sisty, 
with the following words explanatory of its character : — 
" It digs up the political stumps, the squalid roots, the 
rotten trees, and will lend its aid in cleaning out all 
nuisances, encumbering the great political farm of the 
people." 

With the foregoing account of the papers published in 
Wilkesbarre, we proceed to note those journals which were 
published in other parts of the county. 

"The Northern Pennsylvanian" was removed from 
Dundaff, Susquehanna county, in 1832, to Carbondale, in 
this county, by Amzi Wilson, who continued to publish 
it until December 30th, 1837. At that time he sold out 
to William Bolton, who issued the paper at Carbondale 
up to the 24th of April, 1840, when he removed his esta- 
blishment to Wilkesbarre. This paper was originally 
called " The Dundaff Republican," advocating democratic 
principles, and was first issued at Dundaff, on the 14th 
of February, 1828. 

" The Carbondale Journal" was established at Carbon- 
dale in 1838, by James B. Mix as editor, advocating 
whig measures. After about a year Charles Mead be- 
came its editor, who conducted it for a year, when it 
passed into the hands of William S. Ward, who issued it 
until September 2d, 1841, when the paper was discon- 
tinued. 

" The Carbondale Gazette" was established in Carbon- 
dale, by Philander S. Joslin, on the 5th of May, 1842. 
July 6th, 1843, Francis B. Woodward entered into part- 
nership with Mr. Joslin, and these two gentlemen edited 
the Gazette until the 8th of November, 1844, at which 
time the firm was dissolved. Mr. Joslin became sole 
editor and proprietor, and in December following sold out 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 397 



to F. B. Woodward, who altered the name of the paper 
to that of " The County Mirror." It had heretofore sus- 
tained a neutral character — it now became whig in prin- 
ciples. In 1845, it was removed to Providence, in this 
county. 

" The Carbondale Democrat" was established in 1845, 
at Carbondale, by P. S. Joslin and Silas S. Benedict. In 
1849 the paper was enlarged, and the name changed to 
"The Lackawanna Citizen and Carbondale Democrat." 
In 1850, the name was again changed to " The Lacka- 
wanna Citizen." It was discontinued April 1st, 1854. 
Mr. P. K. Barger and Mr. Homer Grenell were connected 
with this paper, and conducted it under the firm of P. K. 
Barger & Co. Mr. Benedict ceased to be its editor De- 
cember 1st, 1852. 

About August 1st, 1854, J. T. Alleger and J. B. Adams 
started a paper in Carbondale, called " The Carbondale 
Democrat," which was only continued until January, 
1855. 

" The Democratic Standard and Know-Nothing Expo- 
sitor" was first issued in Carbondale June 1st, 1855, by 
John J. Allen. It was continued until September 17th 
following, when the building in which it was printed, 
together with about twenty others, was burnt, and the 
paper was never re-established. 

" The Lackawanna Journal," a whig paper, was com- 
menced at Carbondale January 20th, 1849, by George M. 
Reynolds, and on the 27th of December, 1850, he asso- 
ciated himself with Dewitt C. Kitchen in the conduct of 
the paper. February 28th, 1851, they altered the name 
to that of " The Carbondale Transcript and Lackawanna 
Journal." The same year Mr. Kitchen retired, and Mr. 
Rej^nolds becoming sole proprietor and editor, continued 
the paper until May 1st, 1857, when he sold to R. H. 



398 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Willoughby. Mr. Willoughby started a new journal on 
the 21st of May, 1857, which he named " The Advance." 
He edited the Advance until the 3d of October following, 
when it was purchased by Dr. Charles Burr and George 
M. Reynolds. In February, 1858, Mr. Reynolds became 
sole editor and proprietor. In the following May he sold 
the establishment to Silas S. Benedict, who in the follow- 
ing September changed the name to " The Weekly Ad- 
vance," under which title it is still published by him. 

" The Pittston Gazette" was established in Pittston in 
August, 1850, by Messrs. Richart and Phillips. It was 
continued by them until the fall of 1853, when Mr. Phil- 
lips sold his interest to Mr. Richart, who, in 1857, sold to 
Dr. J. H. Puleston. Mr. Richart repurchased in 1860. 

" The Pittston Herald," started in Pittston, in 1855, by 
E. S. Neibell, was discontinued after a few months. 

" The Pittston Free Press," commenced in Pittston, in 
1859, by Arnold C. Lewis, had a short existence of a few 
months. 

" The Lackawanna Herald" was established in Scranton 
in 1852, by C. E. Lathrop, and advocated whig doctrines, 
from which it glided into Know-Nothingism. In 1856, 
it was purchased by E. B. Chase, who changed the po- 
litical character of the paper. He united it with " The 
Spirit of the Valley," and they took the name of " The 
Herald of the Union," advocating democratic measures. 
Mr. Chase sold to Dr. J. B. Adams and Dr. A. Davis. Dr. 
Davis purchased the interest of Dr. Adams in the spring 
of 1859, when Dr. S. M. Wheeler became associated with 
Dr. Davis, and the paper is now edited and published 
by the firm of Davis & Wheeler.^ 

" The Scranton Republican" was established in 1856, 
and was edited by Theodore Smith. Mr. Smith sold to 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 399 



F. A. McCartney in 1858, wlio is the present editor and 
proprietor.^ 

" The Tri- Weekly Experiment" was commenced in 
Scranton in 1855 by F. Dilley. It was discontinued at 
the end of three months. 

" The Kingston Guardian" was established in the 
borough of Kingston, in 1858, by Messrs. Kitchen and 
Denn. It was subsequently removed to Plymouth, and 
the name changed to " The Plymouth Register." 

" The Olio" is a small sheet, the second volume of 
which is now in course of publication by the High School 
at Scranton. It is a neatly printed school journal, devoted 
to literature and general intelligence. It is published 
semi-monthly. Terms — two ounces of attention, payable 
invariably immediately on the receipt of each number. 

" The Mountaineer" was published in Conyngham, in 
1834, by J. A. Gordon. It was continued for eighteen 
months. The press was the property of N. Beach, Jacob 
Drumheller, M. S. Brundage, and A. G. Broadhead, Esqs. 

Such is a brief record of the several newspapers pub- 
lished in Luzerne county, from 1795 to 1865. They have 
been edited for the most part by active and intelligent 
men, and have been supported by an appreciating and 
reading people. The small 10 by 12 sheet has expanded 
to the large family newspaper, presenting to the eye of 
the reader a most interesting budget of news, gathered 
weekly from all quarters of the habitable globe. The 
old Ramage wooden hand-press has been supplanted by 
improved iron hand and steam presses. The number of 
printing establishments have increased from 1 to 9, with 
a proportionate increase of circulation. The value of 
printing machinery and materials has increased from 
$500, the cost of the original " Herald of the Times," in 



400 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



1795, to 150,000, the present estimated value of all the 
establishments in the county. 



BOOKS. 

In the year 1800, Abraham Bradley, Esq., who had 
been a captain in the Revolutionary army, and who had 
removed, in 1796, from Connecticut to Wyoming, wrote 
a- small 12mo. book, entitled "A New Theory of the 
Earth." It was printed and published at Wilkesbarre, by 
Asher and Charles Miner, and gave great alarm to many 
pious old ladies, among others to Mr. Bradley's good wife. 
The work was thought to be infidel in its character, ad- 
vancing doctrines not in conformity with the teachings 
of Holy Writ. These orthodox ladies and others were 
active in its destruction, committing the book to the 
flames whenever a copy fell into their hands. This cir- 
cumstance accounts for the present scarcity of the work. 
The New Theory unfolded the doctrine of a new creation 
from the ruins of an old world, and of separate and dis- 
tinct acts of creation, such as the formation of an original 
black pair in Africa, a red pair in America, and a white 
pair in Europe. 

In contrasting the descendants of Noah with the other 
races Mr. Bradley observes, with respect to the nose and 
teeth, that the European noses are made after a great 
variety of patterns. The European race has, in fact, no 
distinctive or characteristic nose like the other races. 
Nature in their case, so far as this member is concerned, 
has been altogether capricious. The Roman nose, which 
is national in India, falls to the lot of one European, the 
short thick nose of the Tartar race to another, the thin 
hooped nose of the native American to a third, and occa- 
sionally we meet with one resembling the negro model. 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 401 



As to the teeth, it is remarked, that the diminutive savages 
of the Arctic circle, the fierce inhabitants of the American 
wilderness, the shiftless blacks of New Guinea, and the 
woolly herds of Negroland, are furnished with two rows 
of fine white ivory in their gums, combining the useful 
and the ornamental, while the proud and conceited Euro- 
pean is compelled to extract one rotten snag after another, 
until the lips cave in against the end of the tongue, and 
render his utterance indistinct and weak. The art of the 
present day has done for Europeans and their descendants 
what, perhaps, Mr. Bradley in his dreams never antici- 
pated. It has placed in the mouths of old and young, 
whose teeth are gone, handsome rows of false ivory, 
rivaling in snowy whiteness those of the children of 
Guinea. Mr. Bradley's work exhibits but a slight know- 
ledge of the question he discusses, and may be viewed as 
altogether speculative, and mostly inaccurate. 

In 1803, A. and C. Miner published at Wilkesbarre a 
work of 142 pages, entitled " The Susquehanna Contro- 
versy Examined. The material objections against the 
Connecticut claimants answered. Done with truth and 
candor, by Samuel Avery, Esq." This publication made 
its appearance at the time when the last commission to 
settle land-titles assembled at Wilkesbarre. It has fur- 
nished a large amount of valuable information to writers 
on the subject since that period. 

" The History of Wyoming," by Isaac Chapman, a 
resident of the valley, was printed and published at 
Wilkesbarre in 1830, by S. D. Lewis. It contains 209 
pages. It is considered a standard work. It is of a 
12mo. size, and is rarely met with. For a country pub- 
lication of thirty years ago, it exhibits a fair' degree of 
mechanical skill, in respect both to printing and binding, 

" The Frontier Maid, or a Tale of Wyoming," a poem 

26 



402 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



in five cantos, was written by Joseph McCoy, cashier of 
the Philadelphia Branch Bank. It was printed and pub- 
lished by Steuben Butler and Samuel Maffet, at Wilkes- 
barre, in 1819. It is a well-bound book of 205 pages, and 
its mechanical execution does credit to the publishers. 
The author subsequently becoming dissatisfied with his 
production, collected and burnt all the volumes that he 
could procure. The principal characters are Edith, the 
maid. Lesion, her father, Howard, her lover, Zorac 
(Abraham Pike), the Bugle Boy (Jonah Kogers), and 
Eutaw, a friendly Indian, who answers to Campbell's 
Outalissi. Edith was captured by the savages, and may 
represent any one of a half dozen young women who were 
carried into captivity from Wyoming, and who had a 
Howard lover, and a Lesion father to mourn her loss. 
After killing the Indians who had captured Pike, Rogers, 
Van Campen, and Pence, Zorac -is represented in the 
poem as pursuing the captors of Edith, who was finally 
rescued. The rescue was accomplished by Eutaw, with 
whom she escaped down the Susquehanna in a canoe. 
She arrived at Wyoming on the night of the fatal 3d of 
July, 1778. Howard had been slain in the battle, and 
her father had fled, with the other inhabitants who sur- 
vived, towards the great or dismal swamp. 
The poem commences thus : — 

" The winds are hushed, and the heart it cheers, 
To see the heavens so bright ; 
The stars seem dancing for joy in their spheres, 
At the holy peace, the calm delight, 
That reigns o'er the quiet of the night. 

II. 
And does lone Susquehanna hear 
No rude alarm, no sound of fear. 
As under skies so blue and bright, 
She strays among her hills to-night ? 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 40c 



In sooth there seems no sound abroad, 
In hill, or vale of that sweet flood, 
Save where, towards her secret den, 
The she-wolf speeds, and now and then, 
Shakes the wild briar, or rushing grass. 
As she hurries through the tangled pass : 
Or save where the fitful breeze proceeds, 

Ruffling the calm flood o'er. 
And rustling at times the long wild reeds. 

As it wanders down the shore. 
And are there indeed no sounds but these, 

On the shores of that wild flood ; 
No rustling but that of the fitful breeze, 

No stirring in dell, or wood. 
But that by the diligent she-wolf made. 
As she rapidly drives through the lowland shade ! 



III. 

Oh yes ! far other disquietude 

A boding doubt recalls ; 
For not remote, where the hurrying flood 

Comes roaring down the falls, 
The night is startled by strange alarms. 

Portending fearful doom ; 
The voices of men and the clang of arms, 

Resounding far through the gloom. 
For mustering there by the river bank. 

Where the fortress looks stern o'er the tide. 
With rampart and fosse in front and flank, 

And battlement bold and breastwork wide. 
And starry standards waving high, 

In the dusk of the midnight air, 
A band of heroes who death defy, 
A little band that must conquer, or die, 

For a bloody day prepare. 

The following extract is descriptive of a messenger 
from the battle-field, and the flight of the women and 
children : — 



404 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



" But hark ! what messenger of doom 
Comes shouting through the fearful gloom ? 
Down through the shoreland wood he flies, 
And far before him sends his cries. 
He bears a burning brand in flight, 
And from the path now starts to sight. 
Wild blows the wind, his upturned hair 
Is dashed with blood, his breast is bare, 
And down his naked neck and side 
Is streaming red the sanguine tide. 
" fly !" he cries, " from worse than death ; 
I warn you with my dying breath. 
The foe in fury cross above j 
Their hasty rafts already move. 
Fly ! fly ! into the mountain's height. 
And trust the shelter of the night." 
Fainting he falls while yet he speaks, 
And breathes his last amid their shrieks 
The dread alarm in fearful cries, 
Down through the distant hamlet flies ; 
And mothers with their screaming care 
Of little ones, and all the fair. 
Flying tumultuous through the night, 
And mingling in the general flight. 
In wild distraction and dismay. 
Are hurrying on their mountain way. 
Now from the lofty paths they trod, 
As wistfully they glanced abroad. 
The distant fortress through the night, 
With rising fires is sparkling bright ; 
And now the flames are bursting high. 
And broad they kindle through the sky ; 
And mournful in funereal blaze : 
Where'er they turn their anxious gaze, 
Beyond the gleaming river way, 
Whose winding course they far survey, 
Mansion and cottage scattered wide. 
With fires innumerous light the tide. 
And now along the nearer shore. 
Where the lone Mill Creek's waters roar^ 
As o'er the rocks her tide she flings. 
And forth into the river springs, 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 405 



The distant hum of shouting foes, 
In low and dismal murmur rose : 
And, lo ! those casual flashings bright 
Too surely show their onward flight. 

Edith, wandering at night on the lonely mountain, 
hears the report of a gun, and meets her father. 

" Edith, my child ! Is there an ear 
An anguish'd father's voice to hear ?" 
A piercing shriek her soul expressed, 
And wild she rushed upon his breast. 
A moment lost in transport drear, 
Her soul forgot each care and fear ; 
But now recalled that near alarm ! 
And, fearful hanging on his arm, 
Around a dubious glance she cast : 
"Fear not" — the warrior said — "-'TIS past. 
A deadly foe with demon spite. 
Pursued my footsteps through the night : 
Baffling the skill of his murderous eye, 
I fled by devious ways on high ; 
But still he seemed my track to mark, 
And still I heard him in the dark ; 
'Till here among the cliff's withdrawn, 
I stood and watched him skulking on : 
And firing as thou heard'st the shock, 
He yelled and tumbled from the rock ! 
So we are safe retreat to seek, 
Oh ! tremble not, yet hear, yet speak !" 
Her half-repressed, heart-rending moan, 
Showed she now felt they stood alone ; 
And wildly did her wandering stare 
Inquire why Howard came not there. 
The weeping father o'er her hung : 
The awful silence of his tongue 
Told her his heart was all too weak 
The fate of that brave youth to speak. 
Filling his soul with dread alarms. 
She sinks unbreathing from his arms ; 
And o'er her he is bending low, 
And wild his words of anii;uish flow. 



406 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Yes, he is gone ! my brave, brave boy, 

Pierced to tbe heart for me. 
My earliest hope, my latest joy, 

And he was all to thee. 
And would'st thou kill whom he would save, 

Nor live to comfort me ? 
Oh wouldst thou bow me to the grave, 

When I have none but thee ? 
No, live, look up, my only one, 

Nor from my misery flee, 
But weep with me, my hopes undone, 

And I will weep with thee." 
A father's cries were in her ear, 

His lip was on her cheek. 
She clasped his neck those cries to hear, 

But had no word to speak. 
" Yes, thou wilt live, my gentle child. 

And, while our grief we share. 
Affliction of its gloom beguiled 

A placid smile shall wear." 
His mantle o'er his child is cast, 

And lowly she reclines, 
And shrilly blows the whistling blast. 

Among the mountain pines." 

We have given the foregoing not because of its poetical 
beauties, for much of it is evidently of that character 
which, it is said, neither gods nor men can tolerate, but 
it is presented as a specimen of some of the poetry or 
rhymes which were composed in the valley forty years 
ago. 

Asher and Charles Miner, during their editorial and 
publishing career, issued at Wilkesbarre a hymn-book, 
edited by Sampson Occum, who, for many years, preached 
the gospel to the Mohegan Indians. 

They also published a small work, entitled "The 
Merry Fellow's Companion," composed of anecdotes, 
selected in part by Charles Miner. A work on Alchemy, 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 407 



written by Dr. William Hooker Smith, was published 
by the same gentleman many years ago. 

We have made the following selections of poetry written 
at various periods by persons residing in, or at the time 
visiting, our county. 

The first selection is a piece written by Charles Miner 
during the visit of a party of young ladies at his house. 
It was published in the " Literary Visitor" of September 
16, 1814. 

How dull and dreary is the day, 

Sad and cheerless look the fields, 
No merry thrush attunes his lay, 

No charm the joyous landscape yields. 

Though Sol to-day assumes his veil, 

And Flora wears a woeful face, 
Yet surely pleasure cannot fail 
, To mingle here with so much grace. 

Then, girls, ne'er heed the cold and rain, 

But pleasure's company enjoy; 
These hours will ne'er return again. 

With pleasure then the hours employ. 

Come, laugh and sing, and chat and play, 

Be merry as the morning lark, 
Drive care and sorrow far away. 

And I will promise each a spark. 

The following was written by Josiah Wright, and 
published in the "Literary Visitor" of March 10, 1815. 

JACKSON AND HIS COMRADES. 

When hostile southern Indians rose, 
A barbarous horde of savage foes, 
And threatened to exterminate 
The border settlers of the state, 



408 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Who flew to arms their lives to save ? 
'Twas Jackson and his comrades brave. 

Who filled the savage breast with dread, 
As from their scattered ranks they fled — 
Our starry banners did display 
Triumphant in East Florida, 
And made the Indians peace to crave ? 
'Twas Jackson and his comrades brave. 

When Britain sent a veteran host, 

To subjugate our southern coast, 

And seize New Orleans — glittering prize — 

Before the western men could rise, 

Who breast the shock the place to save ? 

'Twas Jackson and his comrades brave. 

When Packenham, and Gibbs, and Keane, 
All famed for feats of arms in Spain, 
Led on their troops to storm our line-^ 
" Booty and Beauty" the countersign — 
Who sent a thousand to their grave ? 
'Twas Jackson and his comrades brave. 

Who beat the proud invading foe, 
And all his flattering hopes laid low. 
In haste compelled him to '^ itreat, 
And safety seek on board his fleet, 
Retrace his march across the wave ? 
'Twas Jackson and his comrades brave., 

Then let our rising nation prove 
Their gratitude, their joy, their love; 
Let fame proclaim to distant climes. 
And tell the tale to future times. 
How Jackson and his patriot band 
Did succor Freedom's chosen land ! 

Below we give a production from the pen of Edward 



NEWSPAPERS ETC. 409 



Chapman, brother of Isaac A. Chapman. It was pub- 
lished at Wilkesbarre in the year 1814 : — 

COLUMBIA. 

Columbia's shores are wild and wide, 

Columbia's hills are high, 
And rudely planted, side by side. 

Where forests meet the eye : 
But narrow must those shores be made. 

And low Columbia's hills, 
And low her ancient forests laid, 

Ere Freedom leaves her fields. 
For 'tis the land where, rude and wild, 
She played her gambols when a child. 

And deep and wide her streams, that flow 

Impetuous to the tide; 
And thick and green her laiirels grow, 

On every river's side. 
But should a transatlantic host 

Pollute her waters fair. 
We'll meet them on the rocky coast, 

And gather laurels there. 
For ! Columbia's sons are brave, 
And free as Ocean's wildest wave. 

The gales that wave her mountain pine 

Are fragrant and serene ; 
And never clearer sun did shine 

Than lights her valleys green. 
But putrid must those breezes blow. 

That sun must set in gore, 
Ere footsteps of a foreign foe 

Imprint Columbia's shore : 
For ! her sons are brave and free, 
Their breasts beat high with liberty. 

For arming boldest cuirassier, 
We've mines of sterling worth, 



410 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



For sword and buckler, spur and spear, 

Emboweled in the earth : 
But ere Columbia's sons resign 

The boon their fathers won, 
The polished ore from every mine 

Shall glitter in the sun : 
For bright's the blade and sharp's the spear 
Which Freedom's sons to battle bear. 

Let Britain boast the deeds she's done, 

Display her trophies bright, 
And count her laurels bravely won. 

In well contested fight : 
Columbia can a band array, 

Will wrest that laurel wreath; 
With truer eye and steadier hand, 

Will strike the blow of death : 
For whether on the land or sea, 
Columbia's fight is victory. 

Let France in blood through Europe wade, 

And in her frantic mood. 
In civil discord draw the blade. 

And spill her children's blood : 
Too dear that skill in arms is bought, 

Where kindred life-blood flows, 
Columbia's sons are only taught 

To triumph o'er their foes : 
And then to comfort, soothe, and save. 
The feelings of the conquered brave. 

Then let Columbia's eagle soar. 

And bear her banner high, 
The thunder from her dexter pour, 

And lightning from her eye : 
And when she sees from realms above, 

The storm of war is spent. 
Descending like the welcome dove, 

The olive branch present : 
And then will beauty's hand divine, 
The never-fading wreath entwine. 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 411 



In the " Wilkesbarre Advocate" of July 28, 1841, is 
published a poetical production bearing the caption of 
" Wyoming." It is from the pen of E. E. LeClerc, Esq., 
and bears the ring of the true metal ; but it is too lengthy 
for our pages. 

The following is the production of a lady blind 
from her infancy — a daughter of the Honorable Charles 
Miner : — 

LINES ON VISITING THE WYOMING MONUMENT. 
(JtTLT, 1837.) 

We sought the spot, and peaceful was the scene^ 

As though an infant's chamber it had been ; 

A summer cloud just veiled the sun's bright glare, 

And nature lai"d her richest carpet there ; 

A murmur, soft and low, from stream and grove, 

Seemed soothing as the voice of one we love ; 

As though aerial spirits loved to keep 

Their watch around this couch, where patriots sleep. 

Thus is the spot so beautiful and bless'd, 

Where from that day's fierce toil they sunk to rest; 

That day of toil, that earned them glory, fame — 

No ! their bold hearts ne'er throbbed at glory's name : 

But deeper, holier feelings there prevailed, 

When haughty foes their humble homes assailed. 

And 'tis a holier voice than that of fame, 

Shall still such sufferings, and such deeds proclaim. 

And in the light that memory sheds around, 

As we approach the consecrated ground, 

Borne on the swelling tide of feelings strong, 

We see them come, a living, honored throng — 

Claiming the tribute patriot hearts can pay. 

When glory's loud acclaim has died away. 



412 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 

ODE, 

WRITTEN FOR THE "WYOMING LITERARY INSTITUTE," JULY 3, 1841. 
BY AMOS SISTY. 

Air — "Star- spangled Banner." 

Oh ! dark was the day when our forefathers fell ; 

When their homes by the red storm of war were overclouded j 
When the Tory's fierce hate, and the Redman's wild yell, 
Left the Vale, now so lovely, in sorrow enshrouded : 
And the torch flaming high, 
Lit the summer eve sky, 
When the shout of the victor, and woman's lone cry, 
Were sounds that were thrilling on Wyoming's shore. 
And her bravest and best were asleep in their gore. 

It has passed — but that day, in our memories true. 

And the heroes who bled, shall be fitly recorded ; 
Nor longer, in vain, shall the past spirit sue ; 
The valor of lang syne will soon be rewarded. 
Though an age may have rolled 
Since the death-knell was tolled. 
And the bones of the warrior lie mouldering and old ; 
We the Monument raise, on Wyoming's fair shore — 
A land rendered sacred by brave hearts of yore. 

And oh ! should a foeman again in our Vale 

Bring the bright sword of war, and the cannon deep roaring 
Every arm would upraise, and the breath of the gale 
Send the star-spangled flag to the high heavens soaring ; 
By the river's clear tide. 
On the mountain's rock side. 
Every son would the shock of invasion abide ; 
Their streams would run red with their enemy's gore, 
And free be forever fair Wyoming's shore. 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 413 



THE SONS OF "WYOMING. 

WRITTEN BY ANDREW BEAUMONT, SOON AFTER THE DEPARTURE OF THE WYOMING 
ARTILLERISTS FOR THE MEXICAN WAR. 

Air — " The Star- Spangled Banner." 

Oh, say, did you hear the loud clarion of war, 

Send its summoning blast o'er our hills and our valley ; 
And Mars, with his helmet, his buckler, and spear, 

Call our youth round " The Star-Spangled Banner" to rally ? 
Mid these stirring alarms, 
See our sons rush to arms — 
While the passion for glory each gallant heart warms ; 
And the sons of Wyoming shall hence be our boast. 
Be the theme of our song and the soul of our toast. 

Behold where the Fane of Religion ascends, 

Those youth clad in arms round the altar of freedom. 
And pledge in the presence of kindred and friends, 

Their blood and their lives, if their country should need them, 
Then the paean rose high. 
And the shout rent the sky. 
While the patriot tear stole from each generous eye. 
And the sons of Wyoming shall e'er be our boast, 
Be the theme of our song and the soul of our toast. 

And ne'er shall the page of our history declare. 

That the youth of Wyoming are wanting in duty ; 
Beloved as companions — undaunted in war, 

And the smiles of the fair are their " booty and beauty. ' 
For the same ardor fires, 
The same spirit inspires. 
That guided in battle their patriot sires. 
And the sons of Wyoming shall long be our boast. 
Be the theme of our song and the soul of our toast. 

The following was written by A. T. Lee, then an artist, 
on a visit to Wyoming. He is now, we believe, an officer 
of note in the United States army. 



414 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



THE SHAWANEE'S FAREWELL. 

Farewell, Susquehanna, farewell, noble stream, 

Where the brown maiden sung once the loftiest theme ; 

I hear the waves dash at thy gray pebbled shore. 

But the leaves whisper o'er me thou wilt hear them no more. 

We have fought long and hard, but the struggle is o'er, 
And the bowstring shall twang at these waters no more ; 
The scalp of the Sachem is torn from his brow. 
And the black wing of death is his canopy now. 

I go, the pale faces have bade me depart, 

They have scattered the blood of my sire's noble heart ; 

The bones of a thousand lay white on the plain, 

But their loud whoops of war they'll ne'er mingle again. 

Koll on, Susquehanna, as proud art thou yet 
As when my young eyes and thy glory first met. 
As when with light heart, o'er thy surface so blue, 
I steered round Jbhy green isles my light bark canoe. 

Farewell, ere the rays that now silver i^ breast, 
Point up from the far purpled hills of the west; 
The red child shall wander, in spirits suhdued. 
Through the dark paJMsSS d^pik of that pine solitude. 

There yet is a land to the wild hunter dear, 
Where the Miami Volls through the wilderness clear j 
And there the lone child of the forest will go. 
And hunt by the lakes the brown buflPalo. 

TO THE SUSQUEHANNA, 

ON ITS JUNCTION WITH THE LACKAWANNA. 
BY MRS. SIGOURNET. 

Rush on, glad stream, in thy power and pride. 
To claim the hand of thy promised bride, 
For she hastes from the realm of the darkened mine. 
To mingle her murmured vows with thine : 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 415 



Ye have met, ye have met, and your shores prolong 
The liquid tone of your nuptial song. 

Methinks ye wed as the white man's son 

And the child of the Indian King have done. 

I saw the bride as she strove in vain 

To cleanse her brow from the carbon stain ; 

But she brings thee a dowry so rich and true 

That thy love must not shrink from the tawny hue. 

Her birth was rude in a mountain cell, 

And her infant freaks there are none to tell ;~ 

Yet the path of her beauty was wild and free, 

And in dell and forest she hid from thee ; 

But the day of her fond caprice is o'er, 

And she seeks to part from thy breast no more. 

Pass on, in the joy of thy blended tide. 
Through the land where the blessed Miquon died. 
No red man's blood, with its guilty stain, 
Hath cried unto Grod from that broad domain ; 
With the seeds of peace they have sown the soil, 
Bring a harvest of wealth for their hour of toil. 

On, on, through the vale where the brave ones sleep, 

Where the waving foliage is rich and deep. 

I have stood on the mountain and roamed through the gleuv 

To the beautiful homes of the Western men ; 

Yet nought in that region of glory could see 

So fair as the vale of Wyoming to me. 

THE POOR MAN AND THE DOCTOR. 

WKITTEN, IN 1812, BY JAMES SINTON, LATE CASHIER OF THE EASTON BANK, WHO FORMERLY 
RESIDED IN WILKESBARRE. 

A poor man once, oppressed with grief, 

A doctor sought for aid. 
And begged for his children some relief, 

His wife, alas ! was dead. 



416 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



" Oh ! doctor, can you help my boy, 

Can you my daughter save? 
He is my pride and she my joy, 

Oh keep them from the grave !" 

" Fear not, good sir," the doctor said, 

" Your children health I'll give, 
For from this little vial here, 

One drop can make them live. 

" Nor look surprised, for you shall see 

The dead I'll raise to life." 
The poor man fled. " My God," says he, 

" He'll surely raise my wife." 

HARVEY'S LAKE ASSOCIATION. 

In olden times, that is, about sixty years ago, the young 
men of Wilkesbarre, Hanover, Kingston, Plymouth, and 
surrounding townships, formed a society which they 
called " The Harvey's Lake Association." The object of 
the society was to celebrate the 4th of July in each year, 
in a becoming manner, at the lake. A table was spread 
beneath the branches of the forest, and it was laden with 
wild game from the surrounding highlands, and fish from 
the clear waters of the lake. 

We extract the following from a poem dedicated to 
" The Patriots of Harvey's Lake," in 1811. It was 
written by a rude mountain native of Luzerne a few days 
before he joined his patriotic brethren to celebrate the 
national birthday : — 

To Harvey's Lake let us repair. 
Convivial scenes exhibit there, 
Our Independence there revive, 
And keep our freedom still alive, 
And celebrate in social glee 
The day that set our country free. 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 417 



The landscape there, the dale and hill, 

Is in a state of nature still. 

Beneath a wide-spread oaken shade 

Shall we our sylvan table spread ; 

July the fourth here we'll record, 

While trout and venison crown the board, 

With rural viands of the best. 

And juleps too to give them zest. 

Our Independence there we'll boast, 

Its heroes not forget to toast — 

Join in their deeds, their virtues name, 

And nobly kindle with their flame, 

'Gainst cursed ambition all forewarn. 

And give to Freedom ages yet unborn. 

The following lines were written by Edward E. Le- 
Clerc, Esq., on the death of Lieut. James Monroe Bowman, 
of the United States Army, eldest son of General Isaac 
Bowman, late of Wilkesbarre. Lieutenant Bowman died 
at Fort Wayne, Arkansas, on the 21st of July, 1839, 
beloved by his fellow-soldiers, and lamented by all who 
knew him in his native Wyoming : — * 

BOWMAN, UNITED STATES ARMY. 

" Bring flowers ! pale flowers, over the bier to shed, 
A crown for the brow of the early dead." 

Mrs. Hemans. 

Bring banners ! bright banners, to shroud o'er the dead, 

The flag of the stripe and the star ; 
Bring banners to wave o'er the soldier's head. 

Which have streamed from the battle car, 
When the earth was stained with the life-blood red, 

As it gushed 'mid the carnage of war ; 
For when warriors die, oh ! surely 'tis meet 
That a banner should be their winding-sheet. 

Bring laurel ! green laurel, to wreathe o'er his bier, 
Who died in a southern clime ; 
27. 



418 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Who calmly met death without shrinking or fear, 

In the midst of his manhood's prime : 
Bring laurel, and shed o'er it many a tear, 

For he fell in his summer's time ; 
Since surely 'tis right that a warrior's name 
Should be decked with the laurel that breathes of fame. 

Bring cannon ! great cannon, to boom o'er the grave j 

When a soldier in armor dies, 
Bring cannon to knell o'er the bed of the brave j 

Let its echoes to heaven arise. 
And its snowy white clouds o'er him curtain-like wave, 

His war-belt to form in the skies ; 
For when warriors march on to that spirit land, 
The cannon should speak to its shadowy band. 

Bring sorrow ! deep sorrow, to the warrior's tomb, 

And with it affection's soft tear, 
While for ever around it let memory bloom, 

Its darkness and stillness to cheer; 
For who shall not sigh, when its chambers of gloom 

Charnels all that the heart holds most dear ? 
Then bring love's warm tear, for who, who will not weep? 
Though proud is the calm of the soldier's last sleep. 



CHRISTMAS. 

WRITTEN BY RICHARD DRINKER, ESQ., DECEMBER 25, 1830, AND PUBLISHED IN 
THE SUSQUEHANNA DEMOCRAT. 

Turkeys ! who on Christmas bled, 
Turkeys ! who on corn have fed, 
Welcome to us now you're dead, 
And in the frost have hung. 

" Now's the day, and now's the hour," 
Through the market how we scour, 
Seeking turkeys to devour. 
Turkeys old and young ; 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 41& 



Who would be a turkey hen ? 
Fed and fattened in a pen — 
Killed and eat by hungry men — 
Can you tell, I pray ? 

Lay the proud old turkeys low, 
Let the young ones run and grow, 
To market they're not fit to go, 
Until next Christmas day. 

From the Susquehanna Democrat. 

UPON MY LIFE IT'S TRUE! 

As Terrence McFadden was digging and grubbing, 
He all at once stopt, and his poll began rubbing, 
While his mug from blood-red turned the color of lead, 

" Och murther !" he cried, "here's an Indian above me, 
On the brink of the ditch — help, Pat, or we're dead ! 

Make haste with -the crow-bar, dear Pat, if you love me. 
Before that he takes all the hair oif my head." 

'Twas a poor old land tortoise that Terrence thus frighted, 
Who came very gravely to view the canawl — 

(Perhaps he was thinking the contracts were slighted. 
Or, perhaps he was thinking of getting a fall, 

Or, perhaps he was sent to report to great planners, 
The damage that farms would sustain by the cait. 

Employed by the gentlemen lords of the manors, 
A low estimation on meadows to put.) 

Pat came with his bar to assist his friend Terry, 
Like a true son of Erin to give and take knocks — 

" Och, brother !" says he, " but you've made yourself merry, 
For I see nothing here hut a, snake in a box !" 
March 10, 1831. 

The following was written by a venerable superannu- 
ated Methodist preacher, who, several years ago, resided 
in Luzerne county. He was in the habit of rhyming, 
during the long winter evenings, for the amusement of 
his wife and children. The old gentleman, after reading 
his effusions aloud, generally committed them to the 



420 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



flames, but when " Mush and Milk" was read and laid on 
the table, a mischievous son cautiously slipped it away, 
and next week, to the astonishment of the aged preacher, 
it appeared iu the town newspaper. 

MUSH AND MILK. 

As dame and I sat by the fire, 

One cold and stormy night, 
I said to her, " My dear, I feel 

The rhyming maggot bite. 

" Come tell me what to write about" — 
"Why mush and milk, you dunce," 

She said, and seemed in snappish mood; 
" Agreed," said I, " for once." 

I took the hint and went to work. 

Each word and line to scan. 
And, wrapt in true poetic fire. 

My work I thus began : — 

Bob Burns applauds the Scotchmen's haggis, 
And tells how well it fills their baggies ; 
John Bull brags much of beef and stout, 
And Dutch folks of their speck and crout ; 
Let me, in verses Hudibrastic, 
Stretch my muse like gum-elastic. 
To sing the praise of mush and milk, 
That ne'er made saint or sinner wilk j 
Though many speak in scorn about it. 
And if they could from earth would scout it. 

The Yankees call it — stop ! dod rot it. 
How strange it is, that I've forgot it ; 
O, now I have it — hasty pudding, 
Though they confess it is a good 'un, 
And would be glad, in times of want. 
To fill their slab-sides with a ''mess on't." 
Dad Matthews, too — the darned old lout — 
■ They say, nick-names it — "stirabout,' 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 421 



And strange enough, that the canaille — 
Whether they thresh with horse or flail, 
Or cut the wheat with scythe or sickle. 
Should put patricians in a pickle — 
Find so much fault, and scold and pout, 
And in contempt turn up the snout ; 
Blazing it round to saint and sinner. 
That they get mush and milk for dinner ; 
Backbite their betters and be hufiy, 
Unless they have their tea or coffee ! 
Good gracious ! why fair Queen Victoria, 
Often exclaims " sic transit gloria ;" 
And though she's clad in gold and silk, 
Fills her wame with mush and milk : 
It does me good to see the wenches 
Knocking about the chairs and benches, 
And o'er the old pot twist and bend, 
Until the potstick stands on end ; 
And then to see the precious stuff 
Blister and swell, and snort and puff, 
Just like wild horses in a frolic. 
Or jEtna when she has the cholic. 

Hail mush and milk, my heart's delight ! 

I could sup thee day and night ; 

It gives its lovers bone and muscle. 

And fits for boxing or for tussle ; 

It sets class-leaders dancing jigs, 

And turns old tories into whigs ; 

It is by far the cheapest food. 

That hogs or poor folks ever chewed. 

To see it on the table smoking, 

Would be to Job himself provoking ; 

And then the tin-cup and the spoon, 

" Ready for action" night and noon ! 

Though I ought perhaps to tell ye, 

It sometimes sadly scours the belly ; 

Yet should you fill choke-full your gizzard. 

You'll never dream of De'il nor wizard j 

Nor yet of spooks nor midnight hag, 

Galloping round on broomstick nag, 

Nor grinning ghosts 



422 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Thus I was going on, when dame 

Screamed out with all her might— 
" I never was so terrified 

As I have been this night ! 

" Why, what a cruel man you be, 

To scare your nervous wife ; 
Confound your varmints, I believe 

You mean to take my life. 

" Who ever heard such awful things ? 

It makes my blood to chill. 
To hear such talk of grinning ghosts ; 

For goodness' sake be still. 

" Do stop your nonsense — go to bed — 

'Tis now half after ten ; j 

I'm scared to death — I'll die this night" — | 

Quoth I — " agreed again I" 

The following address to a " Land Tortoise" was writ- 
ten by Richard Drinker, Esq., formerly of Covington | 
township, and published in J. R. Chandler's Magazine, in 
Philadelphia, in 1819. 

ADDRESS TO A LAND TORTOISE. 

Guid mornin', frien', ye're earlie creepin' ! 

Wi' head erect about ye peepin' — 

Ane steady gait ye alway keep in, - 

Aye sure and slaw — ; 

I doubt the time ye tak' to sleep in 

Is unco sma'. 

Your crawlin' pits me aye in mind j 

0' tortles o' the human kind — 
How many crawlers do we find 

'Mang sons of men, ^ 

Wi' thoughts unto the earth inclined 

Until the en' ? 

Ah ! now ye've shut yoursel' up tight; 
I fear ye're in an awsome fright 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. ^23 



At seeia' sic an unco siglit 

As my queer face. 
G-ang on your gait ! I'm no tlie wight 

Wad harm your race. 

Albins I might for fun or fame 
Just carve upon your hard auld wame 
The twa initials o' my name, 

An' whin I meet ye, 
And then — nae ither right I'd claim 

Than down to set ye. 

Ye'll live a hundred years, they say, 
An' mony a weary mile ye gae, 
An' mony a hunder eggs ye lay. 

Ye queer auld beast, 
Whilk gies the snake, your mortal fae, 

Fu' mony a feast. 

But fare ye well ! I now maun leave ye, 

I ken my absence winna grieve ye — 

Wi' jingling Scotch nae mair I'll deave ye, 

An' ithers too — 
Aince an' for aye, I freely give ye 

A lans adieu. 



LITERARY AND BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES. 

Since the revival of learning, in modern times, socie- 
ties for the advancement of knowledge, and the improve- 
ment of the human understanding, as well as for the 
purposes of charity, have existed in all civilized countries. 
In the ancient states of Greece and Rome, certain philo- 
sophers opened their schools or academies, in which they 
taught their peculiar dogmas, but they were for the most 
part destitute of those establishments of benevolence and 
learning, which constitute one of the distinguishing fea- 
tures of modern civilization. It is only in later ages that 
the importance of general education has been discerned, 



424 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



and that the glorious doctrine of " Love thy neighbor as 
thyself" has exerted its ameliorating influence on the 
indifference and selfishness of the human heart. In 
America, at a very early day, after wild nature had been, 
in a degree, subjugated, and was furnishing supplies for 
the wants of man, the settlers turned their attention to 
mental culture. They were deprived of the advantages 
of old-established communities — there were no libraries 
at their command, and very few books of any kind were 
to be had. Under these circumstances the young men 
of the settlements often united for mutual improvement, 
and these unions not unfrequently took the character 
and name of Debating Societies. 

In almost every town and small village, as well as in 
the country among the hills and valleys, the academies 
and log school-houses have echoed with the eloquence of 
young debaters. Patrick ..Henry, Adams, Webster, Clay, 
and a multitude of others, prepared themselves for the 
popular assemblies, and for more learned audiences, in 
the training which these humble societies could furnish. 

The Wilkesbarre Debating Society was organized March 
8th, 1804, and was the first in the county of which we 
have any record. The proceedings, when deemed expe- 
dient by the society, were to be kept secret, and any 
member violating this provision of the constitution was 
severely dealt with. Absentees were fined fifty cents, 
and any member refusing to take part in the debate paid 
twenty-five cents into the treasury. This association was 
organized by Thomas Dyer, Charles Miner, John Evans, 
Arnold Colt, Nathan Palmer, Josiah Wright, Ezekiel 
Hyde, Thomas Graham, Thomas Wells, and Roswell 
Wells. The first question for debate was as follows : 
" Is celibacy justifiable by the laws of God, or consistent 
with moral principles ?" The discussion was animated, 



NEWSPAPERS ETC. 425 



exhibiting no mean powers of debate on the part of 
several members. The question was decided in the nega- 
tive. Half a century ago the affirmative must have had 
narrow ground to stand on, and feeble weapons to con- 
tend with. The young women of that day entertained 
proper ideas of domestic responsibility and economy. 
They were early taught all the essentials of good house- 
keeping, and generally made attentive wives and excel- 
lent managers. Men could then live cheaper, grow richer, 
and be happier, as husbands, than as celibates. It would 
have sounded ridiculous to decide the question in the 
affirmative then. In the present year of our Lord this is 
all changed. The question, as to the justification of 
celibacy, has become one on the affirmative of which a 
great deal may be said and strongly urged. Ladies, 
generally speaking, are no longer the economical mana- 
gers, and the prudent housekeepers they once were. Men 
find themselves compelled to support extravagant, waste- 
ful, and idle families. While they are exerting their 
mental and physical powers to the utmost to procure 
means to keep their position in society, their wives and 
daughters are squandering in luxurious living the hard 
earnings of their husbands and fathers. The multitudes 
of unmarried men and women in the country, now-a- 
days, exhibit a practical decision of that question in the 
affirmative. 

In 1809 the name of this association was changed to 
that of the Wilkesbarre Beneficial Society ; from which 
we infer that weekly or monthly dues were paid by 
members for charitable objects. Perhaps the institution 
assumed the character of a secret organization, as a rival 
to the QuiNCUN" Society or Tribe, which started into 
existence, in Wilkesbarre, in 1806. This, so far as we 
can learn, was the beginning of debating or literary socie- 



426 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



ties m Luzerne, which were kept up under various names 
until 1839, when the present Wyoming Literary Society 
was established. Many men, who afterwards became 
eminent, participated in the estabUshment and proceed- 
ings of these associations. There were Denison, Griffin, 
Cist, Mallery, Scott, Bowman, Wright, Beaumont, Bid- 
lack, Woodward, Butler, Conyngham, Lane, Burnside, 
Hoyt, Nicholson, Lee, Ross, Smith, and many others 
who trained their faculties for debate in these societies. 
The Hon. Charles Miner and Thomas Dyer, Esq., two of 
the original members of the first debating society, still 
survive (I860)." 

In 1806 the Wilkesbarre or Wyoming Library Com- 
pany was formed. Its object was to procure a collection 
of valuable books, to be placed within the reach of all 
who desired knowledge. As is generally the case with 
libraries in country towns, the books became scattered, 
and many were lost. In 1826 a search committee was 
appointed, to restore the collection as far as practicable. 
The remaining books were brought together, and were 
divided among the members of the company by lot. 

In 1839 the Wyoming Athenaeum was established, and 
is still in existence. It has a valuable collection of books, 
numbering about 1500 volumes. 

The Young Men's Literary and Debating Club of 
Scranton was permanently organized, by a number of 
enterprising young gentlemen, on the 23d of October, 
1857, D. C. Harrington being President. During the 
winter of 1858 and 1859 courses of interesting lectures 
were delivered before the club by eminent men, whose 
services were procured at a cost of about $500. This 
institution promises much for the improvement of the 
young men of Scranton, and is worthy of imitation and 
patronage. 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 427 



The Excelsior Debating Society was organized in Pitts- 
ton several years ago. Connected with it are a reading- 
room and library. 

Including the Sunday-school libraries, of which those 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church have about 12,000 
volumes, the circulating libraries, and the libraries of 
the seminaries and institutes of learning, in the county, 
embrace about 30,000 volumes. These, properly used, 
would abundantly meet the religious, moral, and intellec- 
tual wants of the reading population of Luzerne. 

In 1814 the Luzerne Association of the Presbyterian 
Church, and the Baptist Association, made strenuous 
efforts, separately, to collect moneys for the distribution 
of the Bible throughout the county. This resulted in a 
united effort, on the part of the several Protestant de- 
nominations, by which the Luzerne Bible Society was 
organized in 1819. 

Through the instrumentality of this organization, every 
destitute family in the county was placed in possession 
of the Word of God. In 1835 and 1836, during the 
time in which the Hev. James May was president of the 
society, from two hundred to three hundred dollars' worth 
of Bibles were annually distributed. For a number of 
years after this the society declined, until 1851, when it 
was revived. The venerable Father Moister was ap- 
pointed agent, and the Word of Life was again dispensed 
to the poor and destitute. Since that period the spirit of 
speculation and the growing thirst for gain have seriously 
interfered with this good cause, as well as with other 
laudable undertakina-s. 

In 1825, " The Luzerne Sunday-school Union" was 
organized for the promotion of religion, the distribu- 
tion of books, and the advancement of morals. David 
Scott was the first president, Garrick Mallery the first 



428 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



vice-president, and Robert Miner the first secretary of 
this association. It accomplished no small amount of 
good, but in time its members seemed to grow weary in 
well-doing, and it gradually dissolved, and was no more. 

The Luzerne County Temperance Society, with its 
numerous auxiliaries, was in complete and successful 
operation as early as 1838. In a few years the effects of 
these societies were apparent in the force of the public 
opinion which they had created in opposition to the rum 
traffic. They rescued a multitude, who were hurrying 
with rapid steps to an early grave, and extinguished the 
fires, of many distilleries. They prevailed with the 
farmer to banish the whiskey-bottle from the harvest- 
field, and with the citizen to remove it from his sideboard. 
The combined efforts of these societies throughout the 
whole country arrested the fearfully-swelling tide of 
intemperance which, at one time, threatened to make 
America a nation of drunkards. These societies, also, 
after accomplishing much good, languished, and finally 
ceased to exist. Their place was supplied by a secret 
organization, called the Sons of Temperance. The Wyo- 
ming division of this order. No. 28, was established in 
Wilkesbarre May 29th, 1845. There were sixteen divi- 
sions in the county, and they continued their o|)erations 
until 1853, when their meetings ceased. 

The Lenni Lenape Lodge of Good Templars was or- 
ganized at Wilkesbarre in 1855. They finally numbered 
six lodges in Luzerne, but these are now no more. Both 
the orders mentioned were of a beneficial character, and 
had for their object the arrest of intemperance. 

There is, unquestionably, yet a vast deal of intempe- 
rance in the land, but it is to be hoped that wise and 
judicious measures, of a moral character, on the part of 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 429 



the sober and religious people of the country, will eventu- 
ally extirpate this evil. 

MASONRY. 

It is asserted by the Masonic Order that a society of 
Masons existed prior to the erection of Solomon's temple, 
at Jerusalem, and that, on the occasion of the building of 
that temple, which was commenced on the 2d day of the 
month Zif, answering to the 21st of April, 2872 years 
ago, their society was reorganized. Indeed, it is con- 
tended that this institution is as Vld as creation, and 
that it actually had an existence 2992 years before 
Solomon laid the foundations of his great temple. This 
would give the order the protracted existence of 5869 
years. 

The first lodge within the limits of the old thirteen 
colonies was instituted at Boston, in 1733. The first 
lodge in Pennsylvania was opened at Philadelphia, in 
1734, of which Benjamin Franklin was Master. The 
Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania was organized in 1764. 

There were several Masonic lodges in the armies of 
the Revolution. When General Sullivan's forces, num- 
bering about 3000 men, were encamped at Wyoming, on 
the plain where Wilkesbarre is located, a lodge met at 
the marquee of Colonel Proctor, on St. John's day, which 
was the 24th of June, 1779. On this occasion one of the 
Rev. Dr. Smith's excellent sermons on Masonry was read 
by a chaplain attached to the army. In all probability 
this was the first lodge ever convened on the banks of 
the Susquehanna. In a few days after this meeting the 
solemn funeral ceremonies of the order were performed 
over the grave of two brethren, who had been slain in 
the preceding April. In April of that year a detachment 



430 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



of the 11th Pennsylvania regiment, in advance of the 
main army, was attacked by the savages, a few miles east 
of Wilkesbarre, and Captain Davis and Lieutenant Jones, 
members of the order, were killed. They were buried 
where thej^ fell, but in June following their remains were 
disinterred and deposited, with Masonic honors, in the 
Wilkesbarre graveyard. The following is the inscription 
on their tombstone : — 

" In memory of Captain J. Davis, of the 11th Penn- 
sylvania regiment, also of Lieutenant William Jones, 
who were murdered by the savages on their march to the 
relief of the distressed inhabitants of Wyoming, on the 
23d of April, 1779. Erected by a Friend." 

The second lodge of Ancient York Masons, held within 
the limits of Luzerne, was opened at the house of Jesse 
Fell, in Wilkesbarre, February 27th, 1794. Geo. Seytz 
officiated as W. M., J. P. Schott, S. W., Peter Grubb, J. 
W., and Arnold Colt, Secretary. 

On the following St. John's day, the lodge marched 
in procession to the court-house, where a sermon was 
preached by the Rev. Mr. Drake, who, in connection with 
the Rev. Brother Cox and the Rev. William Bishop, 
appears to have been the officiating chaplain, for a num- 
ber of years. 

On the 23d of December, 1799, the death of General 
Washington was announced to the lodge, and on the 27th 
the fraternity assembled in the court-house, to hear an 
appropriate eulogium from Roswell Wells, Esq. Several 
years ago, during the anti-masonic excitement, many con- 
tended that Washington had never been a Mason, but 
the fact is too well attested to be doubted by any one of 
ordinary intelligence. 

In 1804, the lodge rented a room in the court-house, 
for which they annually paid the sum of ton dollars, and 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 431 



thenceforth they ceased to hold their meetings at the 
house of Judge Fell. In the same public building were 
held religious meetings, balls, political assemblies, and 
even the markets. 

The forcible abduction of Morgan, in the state of New 
York, as the story was told to the world, excited a vio- 
lent prejudice in the public mind against the order of 
Masonry. Many absurd and ridiculous statements were 
put in circulation in connection with this matter, which 
were eagerly swallowed by the multitude. Designing 
demagogues forced the question of secret societies into 
the political arena. By raising a hue and cry against 
Masonry they hoped to secure positions of honor and 
trust for themselves. In many instances they were suc- 
cessful. A great number of lodges throughout the Union 
ceased to work, or to sustain an organization, so violent 
had become the ferment in the public mind. The last 
regular meeting of the lodge at Wilkesbarre, No. 61, was 
held August 12th, 1832. Among the earlier members of 
this lodge we find the names of Jonathan Hancock, 
Zebulon Marcy, Eleazar Blackman, F. Depuy, James 
Campbell, Josiah Wright, Samuel Jameson, Peter Yar- 
ington, Charles Miner, Joseph Wright, Oliver Helme, 
Isaac Bowman, J. and E. Bulkely, Caleb Hoyt, Asa 
Dimock, Ezekiel Hyde, and Stephen Tuttle. 

In 1844, the lodge was reorganized, Isaac Bowman act- 
ing as P. M., Andrew Beaumont, W. M., Henry Petti- 
bone, S. W., John Turner, J. W., Hezekiah Parsons, 
Treasurer, and Henry Colt, Secretary. The Lodges in the 
county are as follows : — 

No. 61, at Wilkesbarre. 

No. 233, St. John's, at Pittston. 

No. 249, at Carbondale. 

No. 261, Hiram, at Providence. 



432 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



No. 291, Union, at Scran ton. 

No. 301, at Waverly. 

No. 323, Peter Williams, at Scranton. 

No. 327, at Hazleton. 

No. 332, at Plymouth. 

The Chapters are — ' 

Eureka, No. 179, at Carbondale. 

Shekina, No. 182, at Wilkesbarre. 

Lackawanna, No. 185, at Scranton. 

The Encampments are — 

Palestine, No. 14, at Carbondale. 

Coeur de Lion, No. 17, at Scranton. 

The total membership of these lodges is about 625. 
lion. Charles Miner (deceased) and Jonathan Buckely, 
Esq., were the oldest surviving members of No. 61 in 1860. 

Soon after it became known to the loving, but inquisi- 
tive and suspicious matrons of Luzerne, that their husbands 
and sons had established a secret society, under the name 
of a Masonic lodge, there was trouble in the domestic 
circle. The husband held in his bosom dread secrets, 
which the " partner of his joys and sorrows" could never 
know ; and on stated occasions he must repair to the 
lodge, where, it was rumored, infernal rites were cele- 
brated. Night was the time selected for their meetings, 
and it was surmised that no good could come of an insti- 
tution which imposed the seal of secrecy on its members, 
and chose the cover of darkness to conceal its proceedings. 
Mrs. J — -^ was a high-spirited, thorough-going woman, 
with many of the virtues, and some of the weaknesses of 
her sex. Her husband was a respectable farmer, residing 
a few miles from Wilkesbarre, and was a member of Lodge 
No. 61, whither he steadily repaired to meet his brethren 

of the mystic tie. Mrs. J expostulated with him on 

the iniquity of his career, and the diabolical character of 
the proceedings of his lodge. Her entreaties were all to 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 433 



no purpose — nothing satisfactory could be extracted from 
the husband, so firm and silent on this question, while on 
all others he was so comnitmicative and obliging. Finally 
she resolved to adopt prompt measures in order to put a 
period to his monthly visits at the lodge, " where," as she 
said, " the women were shut out, and all kinds of devil- 
ment were carried on." Lodge night arrived. Mr. 

J being shaven and dressed, had nothing to do but 

eat his mush and milk, mount his horse, and ride away 
to Wilkesbarre. The mush and milk was eaten, and the 
horse had been mounted, when suddenly the rider was 
seized with violent cramps, and sickness at the stomach, 
which was followed by severe vomiting. Mr. J — '— was 
compelled to dismount, and take the recumbent posture, 

for Mrs. J had introduced a double dose of tartar 

emetic into his bowl of mush and milk. She followed up 
her energetic operations with the decision of a bold 
spirit, until he, eventually, yielded the point, and aban- 
doned the order. 

" Adieu ! a heart-warm fond adieu ! 
Dear brothers of the mystic tie : 
If I again should meet with you, 

Dame J has sworn that I shall die." 

ODD FELLOWSHIP. 

Some writers assert that this order had its origin in 
the days of Moses ; others declare it originated from an 
association in the Roman army, under Titus, called the 
Society of Fellow-Citizens, to whom he gave the name 
of Odd Fellows, from certain peculiarities which charac- 
terized them. 

The first lodge in England was opened in London in 
1788, the formation of which suggested to Montgomery, 
the poet, those beautiful lines commencing — 

28 



434 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



When Friendship, Love, and Truth abound, 
Among a band of brothers," &c. 

In 1819, Thomas Wildey, a blacksmith, residing in the 
city of Baltimore, published a call, through the news- 
papers, for a meeting of Odd Fellows, who might happen 
to be in this country. He was met, at the time and place 
appointed in the call, by John Welch, John Duncan, John 
Cheathem, and Richard Rushworth. The result of this 
meeting was the establishment of Washington Lodge, 
No. 1, the first in North America. 

Pennsylvania Lodge, No. 1, opened at Philadelphia, 
was the first in this state, and the Grand Lodge of Penn- 
sylvania was instituted in the year 1822. 

On the 6th of August, 1831, a meeting of Odd Fellows 
was held at the house of T. H. Morgan in Wilkesbarre, 
who petitioned the Grand Lodge for a charter for a sub- 
ordinate lodge, which was granted under the name of 
Wyoming Lodge, No. 29, and this was the first lodge 
opened in Luzerne county. The officers were Whitney 
Smith, N. G., George G. West, V. G., John R. Dean and 
William Hartley, Secretaries, and William Merrit, Trea- 
surer. 

The Lodges now in the county are as follows : — 

Wyoming, No. 29, at Wilkesbarre. 

Cambrian, No. 58, Carbondale. 

Hazelton, No. 65, Hazelton. 

Olive Leaf, No. 156, Carbondale. 

Capouse, No. 170, Hyde Park. 

Shickshinny, No. 180, Shickshinny. 

Shawnee, No. 225, Plymouth. 

Integrity, No. 234, Town Hill. 

Forest, No. 251, White Haven. 

Abington, No. 267, Waverly. 

Lackawanna, No. 291, Scranton. 



NEWSPAPERS ETC. 435 



Vulcan, No. 292, South Wilkesbarre. 

Conyngham, No. 308, Conyngham. 

Gohonta, No. 314, Pittston. 

Oneida, No. 371, Huntsville. 

Archbald, No. 392, Archbald. 

HofFnung (German), No. 425, Wilkesbarre. 

Benton, No. 433, Benton Centre. 

White Haven, No. 457, White Haven. 

Dunmore, No. 492, Dunmore. 

Thistle, No. 512, Pittston. 

Residenz (German), No. 513, Scranton. 

Butler, No. 525, Drums. 

Alliance, No. 540, Scranton. 

The total is 24 lodges, with an aggregate contributing 
membership of 2000. 

The Encampments in the county are six, viz. : 

Outalissi, No. 39, at Wilkesbarre. 

Beaver, No. 61, Hazelton. 

Scrantonia, No. 81, Scranton. 

Gohonta, No. 96, Pittston. 

White Haven, No. 122, White Haven. 

Armin (German), No. 124, Scranton. 

Besides the two chief orders of Masonry and Odd Fel- 
lowship, there are other societies of inferior note in the 
county. We mention 

The Herman Beneficial Society (German), which was 
established at Wilkesbarre, in 1846, and was named in 
honor of the Duke of the Cheruskers, a German tribe of 
people. Herman was the Washington of Germany. 

The Wyoming Beneficial Society (German), established 
at Wilkesbarre, in 1848, chiefly through the exertions 
of Captain John Reichart. 

The Ladies' Beneficial Society (German), organized at 
Wilkesbarre, in 1858. 



4.36 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



The Mechanics' Beneficial Association (German), or- 
ganized at Wilkesbarre, in 1859. 

The Jewish Benevolent Society, established at Wilkes- 
barre, in 1858, for the relief of suffering Jews. 

The Lackawanna Beneficial Societ}^, organized at Scran- 
ton, in 1851, Bernard Ofner, president. 

The Hibernia Beneficial Society, organized at Pittston, 
in 1852, Michael Reap, president. 

It may not be amiss to note that on the 16th of July, 
1832, an anti-tobacco meeting was held in Wilkesbarre. 
John P. Babb was called to the chair, and William B. 
Norton was appointed secretary. The meeting was ad- 
dressed hy Dr. D. N. Scott, Ovid F. Johnson, and Luther 
Kidder, Esqs. A committee, consisting of Dr. T. W. 
Miner, J. P. Babb, Dr. E. L. Boyd, and Dr. D. N. Scott, 
was appointed to draft a constitution. Messrs. Kidder, 
Johnson, and Miner constituted a committee to prepare 
an address for the next meeting. But the organization 
of this society was never perfected. The day will pro- 
bably come when a general movement will be made, 
among the enlightened and observing, against the use of 
tobacco. It is making sad inroads on the health, the 
spirits, and usefulness of multitudes in all ranks of society. 
The mental and moral manifestations induced by its abuse 
are very similar to those consequent on the use of ardent 
spirits. When that day comes the feeble efibrt, here 
recorded, to oppose this evil, will possess interest in the 
eye of the philanthropist. 

On the 11th day of February, 1858, Dr. C. F. Ingham, 
Dr. W. F. Dennis, E. L. Dana, J. P. Dennis, G. P. Par- 
rish, Wra. P. Miner, S. Woodward, H. M. Hoyt, G. B. 
Nicholson, C. E. Wright, W. H. Beaumont, S. Bowman, 
S. S. Winchester, J. B. Conyngham, and others, met at 
the Old Fell Tavern, in Wilkesbarre, to celebrate the 



NEWSPAPERS, ETC. 4S7 



fiftieth anniversary of the successful experiment of burn- 
ing anthracite coal in a grate. The old grate, with which 
Judge Fell experimented, was procured and set up in the 
fire-place, and a bright coal fire was soon glowing, and 
warming the assembled company. At this meeting it 
was proposed to establish a Historical Society, and the 
projDOsition meeting general approval, a committee was 
appointed to draft a constitution, to be presented at the 
next meeting, to be held at Templar Hall. 

It is to be regretted that a historical and geological 
society was not formed in this county many years ago, 
while a number of the early settlers were yet living, and 
at a period when many curious relics of former ages, now 
beyond our reach, might have been procured and pre- 
served among us. The writer collected, in Wj^oming 
Valley many years ago, a large number of Indian curi- 
osities, which are now deposited in the British Museum. 
There are numerous articles of interest in the Philadel- 
phia, New York, and New England cabinets, which were 
procured in Luzerne county. 

On the 10th of May, 1858, the Wyoming Historical and 
Geological Society received corporate privileges, and soon 
after rented the present cabinet-room on Franklin Street, 
Captain E. L. Dana having been elected the first president. 
This room, it was supposed, would be sufficiently large for 
the wants of the society for many years to come. But, 
owing to the praiseworthy exertions of the cabinet com- 
mittee, and to the liberal donations of many gentlemen 
and ladies in and out of the county, it is now full and 
overflowing with a great variety of rare and valuable speci- 
mens of minerals, shells, coin, Indian relics, &c. The society 
is in possession of the valuable collection of H. A. Cham- 
bers, of Carbondale, who spent twenty years in gathering 
valuable curiosities of ancient and modern times, espe- 



438 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



cially coins and medals, of which he had upwards of 3000 
pieces. 

The society is indebted to General Wm. S. Ross, of 
Wilkesbarre, for this cabinet of rare curiosities. With a 
public spirit and a liberality seldom equaled, the General 
purchased the entire collection of Mr. Chambers for $2000, 
and presented it to the society. It forms a nucleus about 
which a great collection will eventually be gathered, inter- 
esting not to the antiquary alone, but to the people of all 
classes of society. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

ROADS, MAILS, AND STAGES. 

The first settlers from Connecticut, who came to Wyo- 
ming in 1762 and 1763, crossed the Hudson at or near 
Newburg, and proceeding westward, passed the Delaware 
at its junction with Shohola Creek. From this point they 
followed an Indian path along Roaring Brook to the 
Lackawanna river, and thence by another Indian path to 
the place of destination. The emigrants of 1769 followed 
the same route, but, being accompanied by carts drawn 
by oxen, they were compelled to use the axe, and from 
this period we date the first wagon-road from the Dela- 
ware to the North Branch of the Susquehanna. 

In October, 1772, at a meeting of the settlers, held in 
the valley, Messrs. Jenkins, Goss, Carey, Gore, and Stew- 
art were appointed a committee to collect money by sub- 
scription to improve the road. The work was commenced 
in the following November, and prosecuted to completion 
in 1774. 

The road through Kingston, parallel with the river, 
and 6 rods or 99 feet in width, was laid out in 1770, 
but as it did not connect with the east side of the river, 
another road was opened through the Kingston flats, 
crossing the Susquehanna at the head of Fish's Island, 
below Wilkesbarre, and uniting with the Wilkesbarre road, 
near the present residence of General E. W. Sturde- 
vant. A road was also laid out from Wilkesbarre to 
Pittston, on the east side of the river, and ferries were 

(439) 



440 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



established at both of these places. The march of Sulli- 
van's army from Easton to Wyoming, in 1779, opened 
another road from the Delaware to the Susquehanna. 
This road was afterwards improved by the settlers, and 
when Luzerne county was organized in 1786, it was fur- 
ther improved by funds appropriated by the court from 
the county treasury, and finally became the great 
thoroughfare between Philadelphia and North Eastern 
Pennsylvania. 

In 1787, a road was laid out from the Nescopeck Falls 
to the Lehigh river, by authority of the Commonwealth, 
and Evan Owen, proprietor of Berwick, was appointed to 
superintend its construction. This road was completed 
in 1789, forming the third line of connection between this 
region and the Delaware, and the second with the Lehigh. 

In 1788, the court of Luzerne county appointed Benja- 
min Carpenter, Abel Pierce, Lawrence Myers, James 
Sutton, Benjamin Smith, and John Dorrance, to view 
and lay out additional roads in Kingston township. The 
viewers for Hanover township were Christopher Hurlbut, 
Shubal Bidlack, Richard Inman, Conrad Lyon, John 
Hurlbut, Elisha Decker, and Nathan Nartrop. For Ply- 
mouth township, Samuel Allen, Rufus Lawrence, William 
Reynolds, Luke Swetland, Hezekiah Roberts, and Cor- 
nelius Atherton, were appointed viewers. For Salem 
township, the viewers were Nathan Beach, George R. 
Taylor, George Smithers, Amos Park, Jacob Shower, and 
Giles Parman. 

In 1789, John Jenkins, Stephen Harding, Peter Harris, 
David Smith, S. Dailey, and J. Phillips, were appointed 
to view and lay out additional roads in Exeter township. 
For Wilkesbarre township, the viewers were Zebulon 
Butler, J. P. Schott, John Hollenback, Nathan Waller, 
Abraham Westbrook, and John Carey. 



ROADS, MAILS, AND STAGES. 441 



In 1790, John Phillips, John Davidson, J, Blanchard, 
Caleb Bates, David Brown, and J. Rosin, were appointed 
viewers for Pittston township. In 1791, the viewers 
appointed for Providence township were Daniel Taylor, 
John Grifford, Gabriel Leggett, Isaac Tripp, James 
Abbott, and Constant Searl. In 1792, William Jackson, 
John Fairchild, Mason F. Alden, M. Smith, Daniel 
McMullin, and A. Smith, were appointed to view and 
lay out roads in Newport township. The surveyors, who 
accompanied the committees and laid out the work, were 
John Jenkins, Christopher Hurlbut, and Luke Swetland ; 
and as other townships were formed, and other road- 
viewers were appointed, their labors were extended until 
all the principal roads in the county, prior to 1798, were 
surveyed and in process of construction. 

It is not to be supposed that these roads were smooth 
and adapted to carriages such as we use for pleasure, con- 
venience, or comfort in the present day. There was a 
plentiful sprinkling of stumps, roots, and rocks in them, 
and to travel them, with any degree of speed, was out of 
the question. The streams, if bridged at all, were spanned 
by round or split logs laid upon string-pieces. The 
springy land and the marshes were rendered passable by 
logs laid parallel to each other, forming what is called the 
corduroy road. The roads were usually laid out over the 
hills, the viewers then, as now, not reflecting that " the 
bale of a pot is no longer lying down than when standing 
up," and that a road made around, instead of over a 
hill, besides being no longer, would save the time of the 
traveler and the horse-flesh of his team. When heavy 
loads were not to be transported, the inhabitants generally 
traveled on horseback. The lover, with his " sweet- 
heart" mounted behind him, or the husband, wife, and 
child on the same horse, wended their way to church, to 



442 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



town, or to the social gathering, as the case might be. 
Broadcloth, silks, laces, and fine feathers, had not yet 
found their way into these mountain regions; but the 
unsojDhisticated people, clad in homespun, assembled at 
the evening party for innocent enjoyment, or congregated 
at the appointed place for religious services. 

About the year 1783, a vehicle, called a "chair" or 
"gig," with a single seat, was introduced by Colonel 
Zebulon Butler from Connecticut, and, in 1808, the dear- 
born, a four-wheeled carriage, made its appearance in our 
valley. 

TURNPIKES. 

As the population, productions, and w^ealth of the 
county increased, there was an urgent demand for better 
roads, and easier communication between distant points. 
In 1802, a charter was procured from the state for con- 
structing the Easton and Wilkesbarre Turnpike. The 
turnpike occupied a large portion of the old road, and it 
was chiefly through the exertions of Arnold Colt that the 
first 29 miles, reckoning from Wilkesbarre, were com- 
pleted in 1806. Soon after, the whole distance from 
Wilkesbarre to the Wind Gap, 46 miles, was finished at 
a cost of $75,000. 

In 1810, the company declared a dividend of $2.60 on 
each share of $50. During the embargo, in 1812 and 
1813, the farmers of Northampton county were unable to 
procure plaster from the seaboard, and were compelled to 
use New York plaster, which was conveyed down the 
Susquehanna in arks to Wilkesbarre, and thence in sleds 
and wagons over the turnpike. This additional travel 
added to the dividends, which were $2.75 per share, 
after deducting the increased expenditures for improve- 
ments. A turnpike mania now seized the people. The 



ROADS, MAILS, AND STAGES. 443 



old Nescopeck and Lehigh road was transformed into a 
turnpike, under the name of the Susquehanna and Lehigh 
Turnpike. The Susquehanna and Tioga Turnpike, ex- 
tending from Berwick in Columbia county, opposite 
Nescopeck, through Fairmount and Huntington town- 
ships in Luzerne, and thence to Towanda, was constructed 
at an enormous expense to the state and to individual 
stockholders. The stock finally became valueless, and 
the road was abandoned. Through the influence and 
energy of H. W. Drinker and Thomas Meredith, Esqs., 
what is known as Drinker's Turnpike was constructed, 
connecting the northern portion of this county with tlie 
Easton and Wilkesbarre Turnpike at Taylorsville. 

The Wilkesbarre and Bridgewater Turnpike, extending 
northward, via Tunkhannock and Montrose, was also con- 
structed, and in common with the other roads, except the 
Easton and Wilkesbarre and the Susquehanna and Lehigh, 
was abandoned by its company several years ago. 

PLANK-ROADS. 

Lord Sydenham, governor-general of Canada, having 
observed, when in Russia, the operation of plank-roads, 
brought about the construction of a similar road in his 
provinces, extending eastward from Toronto. It was 
completed in 1834. In 1846, the Syracuse and Central 
Square Plank-road, in New York, the first in the United 
States, was completed. Since that period they have been 
constructed in various localities throughout the Union, 
especially in lumbering countries, where materials are 
cheap. 

The Wilkesbarre and Providence Plank-road Company 
was incorporated in 1851. The distance from Wilkes- 
barre to Pittston, eight miles, was constructed at a cost 



444 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



of |43,500. The balance of the road was never placed 
under contract, and the stock has gone down from $25 
per share to |4, its present value. 

The Scranton and Carbondale Plank-road, constructed 
in 1853—4, has been abandoned from Scranton to the 
Blakely township line. 

The Providence and Waverly Road is in process of 
transformation from a plank to a turnpike road, leaving 
the Bear Creek and Lehigh, and the Gouldsborough roads, 
as the only representatives of this kind of highway in 
the county. 

The Bear Creek Road is 10 miles in length, extending 
from Port Jenkins, the head of the Lehigh navigation, to 
the Wilkesbarre and Easton Turnpike at Bear Creek. 
Here it is intersected by another plank-road, 2 miles in 
length, constructed by Messrs. McKean and Pursel, and 
connecting with their extensive lumber-mills. This road 
was built to facilitate the lumbering business, but has not 
as yet declared a dividend. 

The Gouldsborough Plank-road extends from Goulds- 
borough station, on the Delaware, Lackawanna, and 
Western Railroad, to Gouldsborough, a distance of about 
8 miles, and, we believe, has never declared a dividend 
on its stock. These roads, like many other enterprises, 
while advantageous to the country, have produced little 
or no profit to the pockets of stockholders. Improve- 
ments, carried through under high speculative excite- 
ment, when people invest their money without due consi- 
deration and investigation, scarcely ever make a profitable 
return on the capital consumed in their construction. 

RAILROADS. 

When coal began to be transported from the mines in 
Enghmd, rails were laid from the pit's mouth to the 



ROADS, MAILS, AND STAGES. 445 



place of deposit, and having considerable inclination, a 
single horse could draw four or five cars containing two 
tons each. These were called tram-roads, the first of 
which was built on the river Tyne in 1676. In 1716, 
flat iron rails laid upon wooden string-pieces were intro- 
duced. From this period until 1800, when the first pas- 
senger railway was constructed from Stockton to Darling- 
ton, in England, the improvements introduced were a 
change in the flat rail, stone foundations afterwards aban- 
doned, the flange first upon the rail and then upon the 
wheels of the car. 

In 1825, Parliament granted a charter for a railroad 
from Manchester to Liverpool, which was completed in 
1830. In 1805, Captain Trevinick invented a steam- 
carriage, an improvement on that invented by Watt, 
several years before, but until the opening of the Man- 
chester and Liverpool Eoad horse-power was in general 
use. On the opening of that road locomotives were 
steadily and successfully employed. 

It has been said, heretofore, that the first railroad in 
the United States was built in 1827, at Quincy, Mass., 
for the purpose of conveying granite from a quarry. But 
a writer in the Historical Magazine, for July, 1859, 
asserts, that the first railroad in this country was con- 
structed, in 1807, at Beaconhill, Mass., by Captain Silas 
Whitney, for the transportation of gravel. It was a 
double-track road with two cars, one empty, which was 
drawn up as the loaded one descended the hill. 

The Mauch Chunk Railroad, connecting the coal-mines 
with the Lehigh, was commenced and finished in 1827, 
and was the first railroad in Pennsylvania. 

The Mount Carbon road was commenced in 1829. 
The Boston and 1*0 well, the Camden and Amboy, and 



446 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



the Philadelphia and Columbia roads, were commenced 
in 1830. In 1831, the Pennsylvania Legislature char- 
tered twelve railroad companies, and from that period we 
may date the commencement of our railroad system, 
which has connected together all the principal points in 
the state. 

Through the efforts of Morris and William Wurts, the 
enterprising projectors of the Delaware and Hudson 
Canal and Railroad Company, that work was commenced 
in 1826, and completed in 1828, J. B. Jervis acting as 
engineer. The canal is 108 miles in length from tide- 
water on the Hudson to Honesdale. It ascends to Hones- 
dale, 980 feet above tide, by means of 106 locks and 2 
guard-locks. Its boats carry 125 tons, and draw 5i feet 
of water. The railroad originally connected the mines 
at Carbondale with the canal at Honesdale, having five 
planes and stationary engines, overcoming an elevation of 
850 feet, and costing, with the canal, $3,500,000. Within 
a few years past the road has been extended to Archbald, 
and it is now in process of extension to the newly-pur- 
chased coal lands of the company, near Scranton and 
Providence. This was the first railroad in Luzerne 
county, and the second that was commenced in the 
United States, the small road at Beaconhill, before 
referred to, being the first. 

The first locomotive in the United States was brought 
from England soon after the completion of the Delaware 
and Hudson Canal and Railroad, in 1828. It was con- 
veyed through the canal and placed on the road, where 
its self-moving power, as it rapidly coursed along the iron 
rail, excited the unbounded astonishment of the natives. 
But the bridges and trestle-work of the road proving too 
frail for the great weight of the steam-horse, it was aban- 
doned, and for several years lay rusting by the roadside. 



ROADS, MAILS, AND STAGES. 447 



A portion of this engine, we arc told, is now used in a 
colliery at Pittston. 

The second railroad in Luzerne was commenced by the 
Baltimore Coal Company in 1834, and was completed in 
1835. The road extends from the mines to the canal at 
Wilkesbarre, and is upwards of a mile in length. The 
loaded cars advance by gravity, while the empty ones, 
formerly returned by horse-power, are now moved by 
steam. 

In 1835, the Lehigh Navigation Company, originated 
by Josiah White and Erskine Hazzard, extended their 
improvement to White Haven, and under their charter 
were required to slackwater the Lehigh as far as Stod- 
dartsville. From this requirement the company was 
released, on condition that it would connect the Lehigh 
with the Susquehanna by railroad. The Lehigh and 
Susquehanna Railroad was consequently commenced in 
1838, E. A. Douglas and Lord Butler, engineers. It 
would have been completed in 1841, but for the extraor- 
dinary floods of that year. However, it was finished in 
1843, at a cost exceeding $1,350,000, and on the 23d of 
May, the first train of passenger cars entered Wyoming 
Valley, and the borough of Wilkesbarre. The people 
were highly excited, testified by their shouts and by the 
thunder of the cannon, for it was believed that a new era 
of progress and improvement had dawned upon us. The 
road is 20 miles in length, and is laid with the T rail. 
It has three planes ascending from the Susquehanna to an 
elevation of 1270 feet, and descending thence to White 
Haven with a grade of 50 feet to the mile. These planes 
are 4356, 3778, and 4797 feet, respectively, in length, 
and the cars are drawn up by stationary steam-power. 

The raih'oad of the Pennsylvania Coal Company ex- 
tends from Port Griffith, on the Susquehanna, to Hawley, 



448 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Oil the Delaware and Hudson Canal, 9 miles below 
Honesdale, and is 47 miles in length. This company 
was chartered in 1830, under the name of the Washing- 
ton Coal Association, which was afterwards changed to 
that of the Pennsylvania Coal Company. W. R. Griffith, 
Irad Hawley, and John Ewen, were the active projectors 
of this great work, which was completed in 1848-9, at a 
cost exceeding $2,000,000. James Archbald and W. R. 
Maffet were the engineers. The coal is conveyed in cars 
drawn by stationary steam-power, up the planes, of which 
there are twelve, ascending to a summit of about 900 feet, 
and the empty cars are returned by another track having 
ten planes. 

The Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad 
extends, by way of Scranton, from Great Bend, where it 
connects with the New York and Erie road, to a point 5 
miles below the Delaware Water Gap. It is 115 miles in 
length. The northern division, from Scranton to Great 
Bend, was commenced and completed under the general 
superintendence of Colonel George W. Scranton, in 1851, 
E. McNeill, engineer. The southern division of 65 miles 
from Scranton to the eastern terminus, where it connects 
with the New Jersey railroads, Avas finished in 1856, and 
on the 21st day of January in that year the first pas- 
senger train passed over the road. It cost $4,000,000, 
and is of the New York or wide gauge. It has heavy 
grades, the highest point of the road being 1100 feet 
above Scranton, and 1800 feet above tide-water. 

The Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Railroad extends 
from Rupert, on the Catawissa, Williamsport, and Erie 
road, by the way of Bloomsburg and Berwick, in Colum- 
bia county, and the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys 
to Scranton. Its length is 58 miles. It was commenced 
in 1854, E. McNeill, engineer, and was finished in 1857, 



ROADS, MAILS, AND STAGES. 449 



at a cost of $1,100,000. The grade is easy, as it follows 
the course of the Susquehanna and Lackawanna rivers, 
being about 3i feet per mile.^^ 

The Lackawanna Railroad extends from Greenville, 
on the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western road, to 
Archbald, 12 miles. It was finished in 1857, at a cost 
of about $300,000. 

Hazelton, Eckley, Black Creek, and Jeansville, are 
connected with Mauch Chunk and the Lehigh Valley 
road, by means of railroads, upon which coal and passen- 
gers are conveyed. 

The aggregate length of the railroads, before enume- 
rated, is 307 miles, of which 163 miles are within the 
limits of Luzerne county, and the cost of the same, in- 
cluding their equipments, together with the cost of the 
Delaware and Hudson Canal, and the works of the Lehigh 
Coal and Navigation Company, exceeds $18,000,000. If 
to this we add the cost of the North Branch Canal, we 
have a sum exceeding $22,000,000, expended in means 
for conveying to market the products of our coal-fields.-^^ 

MAILS AND STAGES. 

The first account we have of posts, or of news and letter- 
carriers, dates back more than 2200 years, to the days of 
Darius I. of Persia, who established post-riders, in the most 
populous portions of his empire, stationed at the distance 
of a day's journey apart. Augustus Caesar, also, about 
the commencement of the Christian era, established a 
regular system of posts in the Roman empire. For several 
hundred years messages were transmitted on horseback, 
as occasion required, through Europe, and it was not 
until 1543 that a regular mail was sent from one point 
to another. This was between London and Edinburgh. 
29 



450 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 




MAIL COACH. 



In 1581 Thomas Randolph was chosen the first Post- 
master-General of England. The invention of mail- 
coaches, by Mr. Palmer, enabled the English government 
to convey its mails with convenience and despatch. 

In 1683 William Penn opened a post-office at Philadel- 
phia, and appointed Henry Waldy postmaster. A weekly 
post-route was established between that place and New 
Castle, Chester, and other settlements, and the rates of 
postage varied from five to nine pence. Notice of the 
times of the arrival and departure of the mail was carefully 
posted on the meeting-house door and other public places. 

The British government, in 1692, adopted preliminary 
measures for the conveyance of the mails in the colonies. 
In 1700 Colonel John Hamilton, of New Jersey, devised 
a post-office system, for which he obtained a patent, 
which he disposed of to the Crown. From this period 
until 1755, when Benjamin Franklin was made Postmas- 
ter-General, there was no improvement in the system. 
The mails were carried on horseback, between Boston, 
New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and occupied 
several days in passing from place to place. The time 
from Boston to Baltimore was reckoned by weeks. Frank- 



ROADS, MAILS, AND STAGES. 451 



lin introduced some judicious changes, and materially 
improved the system. 

In 1756 John Butler engaged to run a stage, in three 
days, from Philadelphia to New York, by the way of 
Perth Amboy and Trenton. In 1765 a second line of 
stages was placed on this route, and the fare was reduced 
to two pence per mile. The stages were covered Jersey 
wagons without springs. In the same year a weekly line 
was established between Philadelphia and Baltimore, and 
soon after a third line of stages, with spring seats, was 
put on between Philadelphia and New York, through in 
summer in two days, and in winter in three days ; fare, 
20 shillings. Letters for Montgomery, Chester, and 
Bucks counties were delivered, to be called for, at the 
post-office at Philadelphia. 

In 1775 the system passed under the jurisdiction of 
the Federal Government. From a few thousand dollars, 
the expenses of this important department of government 
have increased to many millions per annum. Franklin, 
in 1757, received $1000 salary as Postmaster-General, 
but now (1866) the postmasters at Scran ton and Wilkes- 
barre receive each about 1800. 

In 1777 a post-route, once in two weeks, was opened 
between Wyoming and Hartford in Connecticut, and 
Prince Bryant was engaged as post^rider for nine months. 
The expenses of this route were defrayed by private sub- 
scription. During the Pennamite and Yankee war, all 
letters and communications were sent by private messen- 
gers, or by persons employed on private subscription. 
On one occasion, Abigail, the wife of Lieutenant John 
Jameson, left Wyoming for Easton, where her father. 
Major Prince Alden, with upwards of twenty other Con- 
necticut settlers, was confined in jail. The letters in- 
tended for the prisoners were carefully folded and con- 



452 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



cealed in her roll (the hair in those days being done up 
in a roll), on the top of her head. As she passed along 
the Indian path, at night, she was discovered and arrested, 
near Bear Creek, by Colonel Patterson, the Pennamite 
commander. The letters in her roll escaped the observa- 
tion of the suspicious Pennamite, and she was permitted 
to pass without further molestation. She arrived safely 
in Easton, and communicated the state of affairs at home 
to her father and other prisoners. 

After the civil war, and the organization of Luzerne 
county, a weekly mail was forwarded between Wilkes- 
barre and Easton. In 1797 Clark Behe, the post-rider, 
informed the public, through the Wilkesbarre Gazette, 
that as he carried the mail, once a week, to Easton, he 
would also carry passengers, "when the sleighing is 
good," at $2.50 each. During the same 3^ear the mail 
was carried, on horseback, once a week, from Wilkes- 
barre via Nanticoke, Newport, and Nescopeck to Berwick, 
returning via Huntington and Plymouth. The only 
authorized post-office in the county was at Wilkesbarre, 
and all letters and papers for Nescopeck, Huntington, and 
other places in Luzerne, were left at certain private houses 
designated by the Wilkesbarre postmaster. 

In 1798, a mail was run, once in two weeks, between 
Wilkesbarre and Great Bend ; and, in the following year, 
a weekly route was opened between Wilkesbarre and 
Owego, in New York. These routes were sustained 
chiefly, if not altogether, by private subscription, like 
those of the early settlers ; the subscribers to newspapers 
paying as high as 50 cents per quarter to the mail car- 
rier. 

Jonathan Hancock rode post from Wilkesbarre to Ber- 
wick in the year 1800; and, in 1803, Charles Mowery 



ROADS, MAILS, AND STAGES. 458 



and a man named Peck carried the mail, on foot, once in 
two weeks, from Wilkesbarre to Tioga. 

In 180G, Messrs. Robison & Arndt commenced running 
a two-horse stage, once a week, between Wilkesbarre and 
Easton, through in a day and a half; fare $3.50. The 
stages from Easton to Philadelphia ran through in one 
day. 

In 1810, Conrad Teter contracted with government to 
carry the mail, once a week, in stages, from Sunbury to 
Painted Post, by the way of Wilkesbarre and Athens. 
He, however, sold his interest in the route from Sunbury 
to Wilkesbarre to Miller Horton, but ran the other por- 
tion himself until 1816. In that year Miller, Jesse and 
Lewis Horton opened a new era in stage-coach traveling, 
and in carrying the mails in Northern Pennsylvania. 
These enterprising brothers contracted, in 1824, to carry 
the mails, in four-horse coaches, from Baltimore to Owego, 
by way of Harrisburg, Sunbury, Wilkesbarre, and Mont- 
rose ; and from Philadelphia to Wilkesbarre, via Easton. 
They also contracted to carry the mails from New York 
city to Montrose, by way of Newark and Morristown in 
New Jersey, and Milford in Pennsylvania. Post-offices 
were established at Plymouth, Kingston, Pittston, Tunk- 
hannock. Providence, and other places in the county; 
and comfortable and substantial four-horse coaches rolled 
daily and rapidly over our highways. Our post-offices* 
have gone on increasing until they now number 77. 
The state of Delaware has but 76 post-offices, and the 
state of Rhode Island has only 87, ten more than Lu- 
zerne county. 

There was something exhilarating in the sight of those 
large four-horse coaches, as they rolled into town, with 

* For names of the earliest post-offices and postmasters, see Appendix, V. 



454 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



the blast of the driver's horn, and the crack of his long 
lash. Proud of his steeds, and. proud of his skill, with 
the lives of many intrusted to his charge, the driver, in 
those days, was no unimportant personage. Philip Ab- 
bott was the driver of Robison & Arndt's two-horse stage 
in 1806 ; but no driver, in this section of country, has 
equal fame with George Root, who drove stage for up- 
wards of forty years. 

Conrad Teter was a large, fat man of a jovial disposi- 
tion, and desirous of making a favorable impression on 
strangers. He drove stage — his own stage — up the river. 
He took pleasure in pointing out his farms to the pas- 
sengers. He frequently informed them, as he passed the 
large residence and farm of Colonel Benjamin Dorrance, 
in Kingston, that he was the owner ; and if asked, why 
he drove stage, would reply, that he loved to rein four 
horses and drive, but had no taste for farming. 

The Indian path, the common road with its rocks and 
stumps, the gig, the Durham boat, and the old stage- 
coaches, have disappeared. In their places we have the 
iron track, the locomotive, the steamboat, and the tele- 
graph. The next hundred years will probably produce 
changes equally marked ; for no Almighty fiat has yet 
gone forth, addressed to the human mind — Thus far shalt 
thou go, but no farther. 



CHAPTER XV. 
NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA. 

In the year 1771, the Provincial Assembly of Penn- 
sylvania passed an act declaring the Susquehanna river a 
public highway. Portions of the lands along the river 
had been settled and cultivated for many years, and the 
inhabitants needed some commodious avenue to market 
for their grain and other products. They proposed to 
pay a certain proportion of the money required to render 
the river navigable. The Assembly appropriated an ad- 
ditional sum, and appointed commissioners to superintend 
the work. The gravel bars were cleared away, stumps 
and trees taken out, a channel opened, and towing-paths 
constructed along the rapids. Somewhat different from 
public operations of more modern times, the river was 
ready for navigation in a few months, from Wrightsville 
to Wyoming. Not many years later a way for trade was 
opened from the Chesapeake to the New York line. 

The first transportation boat used on the river was 
called the Durham boat, from the town of Durham, on 
the Delaware, a few miles below Easton. This boat was 
built at that place about the year 1750. 

The Delaware boats were sixty feet in length, eight 
feet in width, and two feet in depth, and when laden 
with fifteen tons' weight drew twenty inches of water. 
The stem and bow were sharp, on which were erected 
small decks, while a running board extended the whole 

(455) 



456 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



length of the boat on each side 



They carried a mast 
with two sails, and were manned by a crew of five men, 
one at the stern with a long oar for steering, and two on 
each side with setting-poles for pushing them forward. 




DtJRHAM BOAT, 



The Susquehanna boats were of similar construction, 
but larger, and manned by a more numerous crew. 

With one end of their long poles set in the water, and 
the other against their muscular shoulders, these hardy 
boatmen toiled the livelong day, forcing their way 
against a rapid current, at the rate of from one to two 
miles an hour. Their labor was severe, but not devoid 
of enjoyment. The anecdote, the jest, and the merry 
song, beguiled the hours of these hardy sons of toil. By 
these boats the surplus produce of the country was taken 
to Harrisburg and Middletown, and transported thence 
by turnpike to Philadelphia, and exchanged for merchan- 
dise and such articles as were needed in the interior. 

But as trade increased rapidly, a more expeditious 



NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA. 



means of transportation was sought after. Several efforts 
were made to introduce improvements in the construction 
of boats, and, among others, Isaac A. Chapman, Esq., 
built at Nescopeck what was called a team-boat, that is 
one propelled by poles, set in motion by horse-power 
machinery. When the "Experiment" was completed, 
Captain Chapman set out from Nescopeck on a trial-trip 
to Wilkesbarre, where he arrived July 4th, 1824. He 
was greeted by the people assembled on the bank, and 
saluted by Captain Barnum's company of volunteers. It 
was thought the old boats would be supplanted by the 
new, but after being thoroughly tested they were aban-. 
doned. 

STEAMBOATS. 

Several countries have claimed the honor of the first 
invention of steamboats, but it properly belongs to the 
United States. 




STERN-WHEEL BOAT. 



Rumsey and Fitch contrived models of the steamboat 
as early as 1773, and in 1784 exhibited them with their 
improvements to General Washington. In 1791, a steam- 
boat was constructed by John Stephens of Hoboken, and, 
in 1797, another was built by Chancellor Livingston, on 
the Hudson. Watt's engine was used in these boats, and 
was attached to poles and paddles. They moved at the 
rate of from three to five miles an hour. 



458 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



In 1803, the paddle-wheel boat was invented by Fulton, 
and was first experimented with on the river Seine, in 
France, in which he was encouraged and assisted by Mr. 
Livingston, then minister from the United States. The 
experiment proving satisfactory, Fulton went to England 
and purchased one of Watt's best engines. He brought 
it to the United States, and, in 1807, set in operation the 
first successful paddle-wheel boat propelled by steam. 

In 1812, steamboats were first introduced into England, 
and, in 1816, the first steamer crossed the English Chan- 
nel to Havre. In 1815, a line of steam-packets was 
established between New York city and Providence, 
Rhode Island, and in 1818 between New York and New 
Orleans. In 1819, the first steamship crossed the Atlantic 
from the United States to England, and in 1825 the first 
steamer made her trip from England to Calcutta. 

In the summer of 1825, three steamboats were built 
for the express purpose of experimenting on the Susque- 
hanna, and, if possible, to establish the practicability of 
its navigation by steam. The " Codorus," built at York, 
or York Haven, by Messrs. Davis, Gordon & Co., was the 
first to stem the rapid current of the Susquehanna. She 
was constructed mostly of sheet-iron, and was sixty feet 
long, nine feet beam, and, when laden with her machinery 
and fifty passengers, drew only eight inches of water. 
Her engine was ten-horse power, and, with a stern- 
wheel, she moved at the rate of four miles an hour 
against the current. In the spring of 1826, Captain 
Elger commenced, with this steamboat, his voyage from 
York Haven. Proceeding up the Susquehanna, he was 
cheered, at every point, by crowds of people, who rushed 
to the shores to see the strange boat that traveled with- 
out poles, oars, or sails. After encountering and over- 
coming many difficulties, the Codorus reached the Nanti- 



NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA. 459 



coke Falls. The news of her near approach was carried 
to Wilkesbarre, and soon all was bustle and confusion. 
Men, women, and children hurried over to the great 
common in front of the town, the cannon was made 
ready, and every eye was turned towards Fish's Island. 
In a short time the gallant little boat turned the point at 
the head of the island, and, dashing forward, came to 
anchor in front of the assembled multitude. Prolonged 
shouts of joy, ringing of bells, and the thunder of the 
cannon, greeted its arrival. This was the 12th day of 
April, 1826. 

The next day, by invitation of Captain Elger, about 
fifty of the citizens of the town went on board, and en- 
joyed a delightful excursion to Forty Fort, and returned 
full of confidence that the undertaking would prove 
successful. It was believed that a new era in the internal 
commerce of the country had now commenced, and that 
the Susquehanna, like the Ohio, was destined to become 
a great thoroughfare for steamboats. 

Proceeding up the river, Captain Elger, in a few days, 
reached Binghamton, from which place the Codorus 
commenced her return trip, arriving in York Haven after 
a vo3''age of four months. In his report to the company 
Captain Elger stated, that he was opposed to any further 
efforts to navigate the river by steam, as he believed it 
to be entirely impracticable. 

The " Susquehanna," the second steamboat, was built 
at Baltimore, by a company of enterprising gentlemen, 
who were anxious to secure for their growing city the 
trade of the Susquehanna river. She was commanded 
by Captain Collins of that city. Her entire length from 
stem to stern was eighty-two feet, while her stern-wheels 
were each four and a half feet in diameter. With an 
engine of thirty horse power, and one hundred passen- 



460 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



gers^ she drew twenty-two inches of water, or fourteen 
inches more than the Codorus. Three commissioners, 
Messrs. Ellicott, Patterson, and Morris, were appointed to 
superintend the experiment, and all things being in readi- 
ness, she started on her trial trip. As she was a much 
larger and heavier boat than the Codorus, she advanced 
with great difficulty. After encountering innumerable 
obstacles she arrived at the Nescopeck Falls, opposite 
Berwick, on the afternoon of May 3d, 1826. The ascent 
of these rapids was looked upon as the most difficult part 
of the undertaking. The three commissioners and all the 
passengers, except about twenty, left the boat, and walked 
along the shore. A quantity of rich pine- wood had been 
procured for the occasion, and with a full head of steam, 
the dangerous passage was commenced. The banks of 
the river were crowded with spectators from the villages 
of Berwick, Nescopeck, and from the surrounding country. 
The angry w^aters seemed to dash with redoubled fury 
against the rocks and against the devoted boat, as if 
aware of the strife. Trembling from stem to stern, the 
noble craft slowly advanced, cheered by a thousand 
voices, until she reached the middle, and most difficult 
point of ascent. Here her headway ceased. The multi- 
tude stood silent on the shores, watching with intense 
anxiety the boat and her passengers. In a few moments 
she turned slightly towards the shore, and struck a rock. 
Her boiler immediately burst with an explosion, that 
sent the dreadful intelligence of her fate many miles 
throughout the surrounding country. Shattered, broken, 
and on fire, all that remained of the " Susquehanna" was 
carried down the conquering tide. The mangled bodies 
of her passengers and crew, dead and dying, lay upon 
her decks, or had been blown into the river. Men with 
ropes rushed into the stream to their shoulders, to save 



NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA. 461 



the unhappy survivors from a watery grave. The rescued 
suiFerers were taken into Berwick, where they received 
the kind attentions of a sympathizing community. The 
writer, then a small boy, was an eye-witness of this awful 
scene. The bodies of several persons were placed in a 
large room in the hotel of Mr. John Jones. What there 
presented itself will never be erased from our memory — 
the bloodstained floor — the mangled, scalded bodies — the 
groans and dying words of men far from home and 
kindred. 

Colonel Joseph Paxton of Cattawissa, who was on 
board, in a letter to the writer says, " With our rich 
pine we succeeded in raising a full head of steam, and 
set off in fine style to ascend the rapids. The strength 
of the current soon checked our headway, and the boat, 
flanking towards the right bank of the river, struck a 
rock, I stood on the forward-deck with a long ash pole 
in my hand, and was in the act of placing it in the water 
hoping to steady her, when the explosion took j)lace. 
Two young men standing near me were blown high into 
the air, and I was hurled several yards from the boat 
into the water. I thought a cannon had been fired, and 
shot my head off. When in the water I thought I must 
certainly drown, but, making a desperate effort, succeeded 
in reaching the shore. I was badly scalded, and lost my 
hair and a portion of my scalp." 

Doctors Headley, Wilson, and Jackson, of Berwick, 
were actively engaged rendering all the medical assist- 
ance in their power. The citizens generally, especially 
the ladies, ministered to the wants and comforts of the 
suffering. 

John Turk and Ceber Whitemarsh of Green, New York, 
were killed instantly. William Camp of Owego died in 
a few hours, and his remains were conveyed to his family. 



462 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Mr. Maynard, the engineer, lingered a day or two and 
died. He died in the triumphs of the Christian faith. 
He was a resident of Baltimore, and a class-leader in the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. The fireman, a brave little 
fellow, was most severely scalded, but recovered. 

William Fitch and David Rose, of Chenango county, 
N. Y., were scalded and severely wounded. 

Colonel Paxton and C. Brobst, of Catawissa, and Jere- 
miah Miller, of Perry county, were severely scalded. 
Messrs. Woodside, Colt, and Underwood, of Danville ; 
Foster, Hurley, and Barton, of Bloomsburg; Benjamin 
Edwards and Isaac Lacey, of Luzerne county, were 
slightly scalded. 

" The Pioneer," the third boat, made its experiment 
on the West Branch of the Susquehanna. Her officers 
reported adversely, and here ended for a time all further 
attempts to navigate the Susquehanna by steam. 

All eyes now turned towards the construction of a 
canal, as the only feasible means by which to reach the 
seaboard with the accumulating productions of the coun- 
try. A considerable appropriation of money, for this 
purpose, had been made in February, 1826, by the Gene- 
ral Assembly of Pennsylvania, and immediately after the 
failure of steamboat navigation the work was commenced 
on the lower division of the canal. The North Branch 
Canal, commenced in 1828, and completed to the Lacka- 
wanna in 1834, progressed but slowly beyond that point. 
Several gentlemen being anxious to introduce anthracite 
coal as soon as possible into the state of New York, 
resolved to make another experiment in steamboat navi- 
gation on the Susquehanna. 

In 1834, Colonels Henry F. Lamb, G. M. Hollenback, 
and others of Wilkesbarre, and Messrs. Pompely, Hollen- 
back, and others of Owego, built a steamer at the latter 



NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA. 463 



place at a cost of $13,000. They named her " The Sus- 
quehanna." She was a strong, well-made boat, with a 
fine engine of fort}^ horse power, and made her first trip 
from Owego to Wilkesbarre, a distance of one hundred 
miles, in less than eight hours. She arrived at the latter 
place on the 7th of August, 1835. Laden with coal, 
she made a successful return trip, greatly encouraging 
the expectations of her proprietors. On her second trip 
to Wilkesbarre for a cargo of coal, she made an excur- 
sion to the Nanticoke dam, and, breaking her shaft, was 
anchored in the Eddy, at the Outlet Lock, where she 
afterwards sunk and was abandoned. 

The completion of the North Branch Canal being still 
delayed, a company was formed at Tunkhannock, which 
constructed another steamer, and named her " Wyoming." 
She was launched in the spring of 1849, and placed under 
the command of Captain Oilman Converse, an experi- 
enced navigator, who had superintended her construction. 
Her length was 128 feet, and her beam 22 feet. With a 
stern-wheel of 16 feet and two engines, she was projoelled 
up the stream, laden with forty tons of coal, at the rate 
of four miles an hour. During the years 1849, 1850, and 
1851, when there was sufficient water in the channel, she 
was constantly employed in transporting coal from Wyo- 
ming Valley to Athens, and other places on the river. 
But finally she was abandoned, like her predecessors, for 
the enterprise was found to be unprofitable. 

It remained for the citizens of Bainbridge, New York, 
to make the last effort in deciding the j)racticability of 
steam navigation on the Susquehanna. A stock company 
was formed, and Captain Converse was employed to con- 
struct and command the " Enterprise." The keel of the 
Enterprise was 95 feet, and her beam 24 feet. With a 
stern-wheel of 14 feet, put in motion by a powerful en- 



464 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



gine, she carried 40 tons of coal, at the rate of four miles 
an hour, from Wilkesbarre to Athens. She was launched 
in 1851, and, in three months of successful navigation, 
paid to her owners three thousand dollars. Successive 
rains had supplied the river with water sufficient for navi- 
gation during the spring months, and the boat was kept 
in constant employment. But when the rains ceased, and 
the river found its usual low water mark, the Enterprise 
lay high and dry on the shore. Her machinery rusted, 
the sun's rays opened her seams, and she soon became unfit 
for service. No further attempts of the kind have been 
made, and thus has ended steamboat navigation on the 
Susquehanna. 

It has been thought by many intelligent and compe- 
tent judges that a slack-water navigation should have been 
constructed on this broad and usually shallow river, admit- 
ting the passage of steamers of 500 tons burthen. This 
was the opinion of far-seeing men in 1826, when the first 
survey for the canal was made, but they were overruled. 

Such an improvement would enable our coal operators 
to deliver coal at Boston, and all the sea-board cities, 
without transhipment, and at a reduced price. 

SHIP-BUILDING. 

It was imagined, at a very early day, by some persons 
in Luzerne, that large vessels could be built on the banks 
of the Susquehanna, and floated down, at the time of 
high water, to the sea-board. It was supposed that thus 
the ship-yards of the cities and seaport towns would be 
transferred, with their artisans, to the .interior, to the 
great profit of the country people. 

To test the practicability of the theory, Messrs. J. P. 
Arndt & Philip established a ship-yard on the public 
common in Wilkesbarre, and in 1803 launched the first 



NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA. 



465 




craft, a sloop of 12 tons burden. They named it " The 
John Franklin," in honor of that indomitable and uncom- 
promising adherent of Yankee rights. The sloop reached 
tide-water in safety, and a flattering prospect of ship- 
building seemed to open to the citizens of the interior. A 
stock company was formed at Wilkesbarre, but it did not 
commence operations until 1811, when the first ship, as 
it was called, was placed upon the stocks. Sanguine 
spirits looked forward with confidence to the speedy 
realization of their dreams. The great common was to 
be converted into a grand ship-yard, and Wilkesbarre and 
all the towns along the river were to become flourishing 
cities. Town lots and timber lands advanced in price, 
and hopeful smiles beamed from the countenances of pro- 
perty holders, especially of holders of stock in the ship- 
building company. In April, 1812, the ship was com- 
pleted. The following is a description of its launch, as 
recorded in the " Gleaner" of April 12 of that year : — 

" Last Friday was the day on which the launch of the 
vessel on the stocks in this port was announced. A 
30 



466 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



scene so extraordinary, 200 miles from the tide-waters 
of the river, raised the curiosity of every one. The old 
sailor, and the inhabitants of the sea-board, whom the 
vicissitudes of fortune had settled in this sylvan retreat, 
and to whom such scenes had once been familiar, felt all 
the interest so naturally excited by events that called up 
early and interesting recollections. The novelty to those 
who had never witnessed such a view, excited curiosity 
to the highest degree. The importance of the experi- 
ment too did not fail to augment the general solicitude, 
for on its success depended the important consideration 
whether the timber of our mountains could be profitably 
employed in ship-building, and our country be beautified 
by the increase of business which such a pursuit would 
naturally produce. On the Sunday preceding the inter- 
esting day, a beautiful new pair of colors was displayed 
from the stern, according to universal usage, as a token 
that in the course of the week she would be launched. 
From Monday till Friday all was bustle and activity. 
Early on Friday people began to gather from all parts of 
the country. The cannon on the bank at noon" gave 
notice that everything was in preparation. A little after 
two, repeated discharges announced that all was ready. 
The bank of the river, far above and below the vessel, 
was lined with persons of both sexes, and it was not 
among the least gratifications of the day to observe the 
smile of pleasure mingled with anxiety for the success of 
the launch, which was evident in every countenance. A 
little after three the increased bustle and noise around 
the vessel, and the sound of sledges and axes, gave the 
interesting notice that they were knocking away the 
block. The vessel was built on the bank of .the river 
100 feet from the water, and 15 feet perpendicular height 
above it, so that she had a considerable distance to move. 



NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA. 467 



She measures between 50 and 60 tons. Her colors were 
flying from her stern, and nearly thirty persons were on 
board. The after block was knocked away — all was 
anxiety — but she did not move. 

" The news of the embargo had just come to town, and 
she seemed aware that there was no business for her on 
the ocean, and she might as well lie in dry dock. The 
men on board all gathered near her bow, and then ran in 
a body to the stern. She started, moving for half a 
minute slowly. Her velocity increased, and she slid 
most gracefully into her destined element, amid the 
shouts of thousands. As she met the water, Captain 
Chapman christened her in the usual style ' The Luzerne, 
of Wilkesbarre.' Nothing could be more beautiful, and 
every spectator was amply gratified. Great credit is due 
to Mr. Mack, the shipwright who built her, and under 
whose superintendence she was launched, and to Mr. 
Arndt, the principal proprietor, who has been chiefly 
active in her building. We hope her voyage down the 
crooked and rocky Susquehanna may be safe, though our 
hopes are not without some fears for her safety, as she 
draws, without ballast, four feet of water." 

In a few days this vessel left the Poi^t of Wilkesbarre, 
on her downward passage to the ocean, and to the con- 
sternation of all on board she was dashed to pieces on 
the rocks at Conawaga Falls, near Middletown. With 
her were wrecked the hopes of her stockholders, together 
with the fond anticipations of timber-land and town-lot 
speculators. Thus failed a bold undertaking, which cost 
the enterprising citizens of Luzerne, and particularly 
those of Wilkesbarre, no small sum of money. It seems 
strange that with a full knowledge of the shallowness 
of the Susquehanna, men should have engaged in the 
hazardous experiment of building a ship of sixty tons. 



468 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



two handred miles from tide-water. Half a century has 
wrought a great change in the business affairs of the 
people of this region. The timber of Luzerne fifty years 
ago was to the inhabitants of that period, what anthracite 
coal is to the people of the present day. And ship-build- 
ing occupied the same relationship to the timber of the 
country then, that the iron manufacture does to the coal 
now. We evidently enjoy a high advantage over our 
fathers. The clouds may withhold their rains, and the 
Susquehanna may show us her dark and rocky bed, but 
that will not prevent the miner from dragging the black 
treasure from the bowels of the earth, nor its conveyance 
to the distant markets of the land. 



LUMBER, RAFTS, AND ARKS. 

Since 1794, and particularly after experience had 
shown the impracticability of ship-building in the inte- 
rior, for the consumption of our timber at home, the 
Susquehanna has been the great channel or avenue for 
supplying the lower markets with lumber. Our river 
has furnished the timbers, masts, and spars of shi20s built 
in Baltimore and in other seaports, and has brought to 
the mechanics of Philadelphia, Lancaster, and of various 
other places in Pennsylvania and Maryland, the materials 
wherewith to erect thousands of dwellings, the lowly cot^ 
tage and the lofty palace. Seventy years ago a raft of 
sawed lumber had not yet been seen on the Susquehanna. 
However, in 1796, thirty rafts passed down the river, but 
not a single ark floated on its waters until the year 1800. 
The first object of the early settlers was to clear the land 
for agricultural purposes, and there being no demand for 
lumber, or means of manufacturing it into boards, timber 
of the best quality was rolled into heaps and consumed 



NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA. 469 



by fire. In a few years, however, after the country be- 
came settled, a farmer here and there would erect a saw- 
mill, and would manufacture lumber from the good timber 
cut on his annual clearings. It was not long before the 
surplus was floated to market below, in the spring or 
fall, during a freshet. As the demand increased the 
number of mills multiplied, and in 1804 no less than 
552 rafts, or about 22,000,000 feet of lumber, were taken 
to market. In the same year, 84 arks and 19 Durham 
boats laden with wheat, furs, and fat cattle destined for 
Baltimore, and valued at $190,400, passed down the 
river. In speaking of this fleet of arks and boats with 
their valuable cargoes, the editor of the Federalist, pub- 
lished in Wilkesbarre at that time, expressed regret that 
the Easton and Wilkesbarre- Turnpike was not completed, 
so as to induce a transhipment of the produce at Wilkes- 
barre, and secure its transportation over the road to Phi- 
ladelphia. In 1827, during a single freshet, from March 
1st to April 5th, 1030 rafts and arks, many of them laden 
with agricultural productions, passed Wilkesbarre on their 
way to tide-water, and to Baltimore. Baltimore was long 
the natural, and only market, for the Upper Susquehanna 
trade. But after the construction of the Columbia and 
Philadelphia Railroad, and the state canals, the trade be- 
came divided between Baltimore, Philadelphia, and other 
populous places. The demand increased from year to 
year, and lumbering became an established business. 
With many it became the primary, while agriculture was 
a secondary pursuit. From 1827 to 1849, the increase 
of the lumber trade was rapid and enormous. From 
March 22d to April 17th, in the last-named year, 2243 
rafts and 268 arks passed Wilkesbarre, on the swollen 
waters of the river. They contained about 100,000,000 
of feet, and were valued at $600,000. Since 1849 the 



470 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTT. 



number of rafts and arks has gradually diminished, 
owing to the scarcity of timber, and to the diversion of 
trade hy the construction of the New York and Erie, 
and of other railroads, in Northern Pennsylvania and 
Southern New York. Very little lumber is now rafted 
within the limits of Luzerne, being conveyed to market 
chiefly on the railroads and Susquehanna canals, while 
a considerable quantity is consumed at home. 

CANALS. 

In 1824, the Legislature of Pennsylvania authorized 
and directed the governor to appoint three commissioners 
to examine routes along the Susquehanna, and other 
rivers in the state, with a view to the proper location and 
construction of canals. In ' February, 1826, a general 
internal improvement act was passed by the Assembly, 
under the operation of which the great public works of 
Pennsylvania were constructed at a cost exceeding 
140,000,000. 

In this stupendous undertaking the people of Luzerne 
naturally felt a deep interest, from the fact that it pro- 
mised a speedy development of her vast mineral resources. 
A state internal improvement convention was assembled 
at Harrisburg, in August, 1825, and Nathan Beach and 
Jacob Cist appeared there as representatives from Luzerne. 

On the 14th of March, 1827, the corner-stone of the 
first lock was laid at Harrisburg, in the presence of a 
vast multitude. There were present Governor Shultz, 
Governor Findley, Governor Carrole of Tennessee, the 
speakers and members of the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives, members of the Masonic order, the military, 
and a great crowd of citizens. The occasion was cele- 
brated in the midst of discharges of cannon, the ringing 
of bells, and the shouts of the people. 



NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA. 471 



Garrick Mallery aud George Denison, men of brilliant 
talents and great influence in the halls of legislation, were 
elected to represent Luzerne in the General Assembly of 
1827-8. They were sent for the express purpose of 
securing speedy action in reference to the commencement 
of the North Branch Canal. Their efforts, strenuously 
directed to that end, were successful, and on their return 
home, they were welcomed by a grateful constituency, 
who gave them a public dinner at the Phoenix Hotel, in 
Wilkesbarre. 

The commissioners were directed to place the North 
Branch division of canal, from Northumberland to the 
state line, under contract. The 4th of July, 1828, was 
fixed upon as the day to break ground at Berwick ; and 
the Avriter, then a boy, numbered one among the great 
multitude assembled to witness the interesting scene. 
The military were there with their colors, and drums, 
and gay attire. Crowds came from Wilkesbarre, Ply- 
mouth, Kingston, Northumberland, Danville, Blooms- 
burg, and from all the region round about for thirty miles 
or more. Old men and women were there, and the boys 
and girls from town and country came. And there was 
good cider, and a vast supply of cakes and beer, that made 
the eyes of the drinker snap. At the appointed hour the 
ceremonies began, by plowing near the present lock at 
Berwick. 

The plow was held by Nathan Beach, Esq., and was 
drawn by a yoke of splendid red oxen, owned and driven 
by Alexander Jameson, Esq. The loose earth was re- 
moved in wheelbarrows, a rock was blasted, cannon were 
fired, whiskey was drank, and all returned to their homes, 
happy and buoyant with the hope of a glorious future. 
The peace of the assemblage was disturbed by five dis- 



472 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



plays of pugilistic science, called fist-fights, an absolute 
essential at all gatherings in those days. 

The laborers upon the public works were principally 
Irishmen, who were accustomed to the pick and the 
shovel, and, when stimulated by the indispensable whis- 
key, could fight or work as the occasion required. At 
that day the idea of constructing a canal without whiskey 
would have been viewed as prej)osterous ; and equally 
absurd would the conduct of a farmer have been pro- 
nounced, who would have presumed to gather his harvest 
without the fiery beverage. Every shanty was supplied 
with whiskey, which cooled them when it was hot, and 
heated them when it was cool ; that was good in pros- 
perity or adversity, in sickness and in health, before 
breakfast in the morning, and on retiring to rest at night ; 
in a word, an article that possessed specific virtues at all 
times, on all occasions, and under all circumstances. But 
the cool-headed spectator plainly saw that whiskey was the 
origin of strikes, and riots, and feuds among the workmen 
themselves ; that it was the great head-breaker and blood- 
letter of the day. 

In 1830 the canal was completed to the Nanticoke 
dam, and the first boat, named " The "Wyoming," built 
by the Hon. John Koons, at Shickshinny, was launched 
and towed to Nanticoke, where she was laden with ten 
tons of anthracite coal, a quantity of flour, and other 
articles. Her destination was Philadelphia. The North 
Branch Canal being new and filling slowly with water, 
the Wyoming passed through the Nanticoke Schute, and 
thence down the river to Northumberland, where she 
entered the Susquehanna division of canal, and proceeded 
with considerable difficulty by the way of the Union and 
Schuylkill Canals to Philadelphia. The Wyoming re- 
ceived, in the city, fifteen tons of dry goods, and com- 



NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA. 473 



mencing her return trip, was frozen up in the ice and 
snow at New Buffalo, in January, 1831. From this place 
her cargo was transported to Wilkesbarre on sleds. The 
voyage of the Wyoming was attended with many difficul- 
ties and detentions, and embraced a period of upwards 
of three months. 

The second canal-boat, " The Luzerne," was built by 
Captain Derrick Bird, on the river bank, opposite Wilkes- 
barre, in 1831. She was laden with coal, which was 
conveyed to Philadelphia, whence she returned with a 
cargo of merchandise, arriving at the Nanticoke dam in 
July 1831. In 1834, the Luzerne, then commanded by 
Captain Buskirk, made the first complete round trip by 
canal from Wilkesbarre to Philadelphia, the North Branch 
division having been completed from Northumberland to 
the Lackawanna. In 1835, the first packet-boats, the 
"George Denison" and the "Gertrude," were launched 
by M. Horton and A. 0. Cahoon, and commenced the con- 
veyance of passengers and light freight between Wilkes- 
barre and Northumberland. 

All the main lines of canal in the Commonwealth were 
now completed, except the North Branch, from Lacka- 
wanna to the New York line, a distance of 94 miles. 
This work progressed slowly until 1838, when it was 
suspended or abandoned. In 1842, the Legislature incor- 
porated the North Branch Canal Company, with a capital 
stock of $1,500,000, and transferred to the company all 
the right, title, and interest of the Commonwealth in the 
unfinished work from the Lackawanna river to the south- 
ern boundary of New York, provided the company com- 
pleted the canal within a period of three years. In 1843 
A supplement to the foregoing was passed by the General 
Assembly, donating to said company the finished canal, 
from the outlet lock at Solomon's Creek to the Lacka- 



471: ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



wanna, fourteen miles, as a further inducement to the 
formation of the company and the completion of the 
enterprise. It was supposed that the liberal offer of the 
state would induce prompt action on the part of capital- 
ists, but the presumption was not well founded, and in 
1848 the Commonwealth resumed the work. Up. to the 
30th of November, 1857, this North Branch Extension, 
as it was called, had cost the state $4,658,491.12. 

To connect the North Branch Canal with those of the 
state of New York, sixteen miles of additional canal were 
necessary, to construct which the Junction Canal Com- 
pany was formed. Through the energy of Mr. Arnot, 
of Elmira, Messrs. Laport, Mason, and others, of Towanda, 
Hollenback, Wright, and others, of Wilkesbarre, and 
Judge Mallery, of Philadelphia, the connection was 
effected. In November, 1856, the first boats laden with 
coal departed from Pittston, destined for Weston, New 
York. The boat " Tonawanda," Captain A. Dennis, super- 
cargo Jno. Richards, Jr., laden with forty tons of coal 
from the mines of Mallery and Butler, and the boat 
" Ravine Coal Co. No. 4," Captain T. Knapp, were the 
first to ascend the canal, and with great difficulty reached 
their destination at Elmira. They were laden with half 
cargoes, and were drawn by double teams, yet their pro- 
gress was slow and heavy. Before the canal closed for 
that year, however, 1150 tons were transported north- 
ward, and in 1857, 2274 tons. 

In 1858 the Legislature disposed of the state canals to 
the Sunbury and Erie Railroad Company, for the sum of 
three millions five hundred thousand (3,500,000) dollars. 
The Sunbury and Erie Railroad Company were scarcel}^ 
in possession when they sold the North Branch division 
from Northumberland to the north line of the state, to 
the North Branch Canal Company, for $1,500,000. This 



NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA. 475 



last-named company soon after sold that portion extend 
ing from Northumberland town to Northampton Street, in 
Wilkesbarre, a distance of sixty-two miles, to the Wyo- 
ming Canal Company, for the sum of $990,000, retaining 
the ipart from Northampton Street to the state line, whose 
length is 104 miles. 

The original dimensions of the Pennsylvania canals 
were 40 feet water level, 28 feet bottom, with 4 feet of 
depth, designed for boats carrying 80 tons weight. The 
canal from Wilkesbarre to. the New York line has 3 
dams and 30 locks, with an average lift of 8 feet, while 
that part extending from Wilkesbarre to Northumberland 
has 11 locks, with an average lift of 8 feet, and only one 
dam, the Nanticoke. 

Since the North Branch Canal has passed into the hands 
of a private company, strong and united efforts have been 
making to forward coal northward. 

On the 14th of July, 1858, S. T. Lippincott left Pitts- 
ton with five boats, laden with coal, and arrived at Elmira. 
From this place he proceeded with two boats to Roches- 
ter, via the Chemung Canal, and thence to Buffalo. Here 
he took the steamboat for Cleveland, Ohio, which he 
reached on the 8th of August. This was the first cargo 
of coal that ever reached Cleveland from Luzerne county, 
and was retailed at $8.50 per ton.* 

* For a further account of the trade upon the canal, see Chapter XII., 
" Minerals and the Coal Trade." 



CHAPTER XVI. 

CLIMATE. 

" Soon came booming on 

The deep voiced thunder, vrhile at distance rolled 
The wild winds, dirge like, and yet tempest tone." 

" How calm, how beautiful comes on 
The stilly hour, when storms are gone, 
When warring winds have died away. 
And clouds, beneath the glancing ray, 
Melt off, and leave the land and sea 
Sleeping in bright tranquillity." 

The climate of this region is that of the north of Europe, 
yet, according to geographical position, we would expect 
a temperature like that of Naples in Italy, or Constanti- 
nople in the south of Turkey. The temperature of Wyo- 
ming Valley is that of a European country lying eight 
degrees farther north. Our climate is subject to great 
and sudden changes. The temperature has been known 
to rise to about 100° in summer, and to fall so low as 
30° below zero in winter. It has been asserted that our 
climate has very much changed, and is more variable 
now than it was many years ago. We possess no very 
accurate means of testing the truth of this statement, but, 
doubtless, it was a colder climate a hundred years back 
than it is now. The existence of an unbroken forest 
covered with snow and saturated with dampness, which 
could be but imperfectly acted upon by the sun's rays, 
produced a more severe and protracted degree of cold 

than we now experience. 

(470) 



CLIMATE. 477 



In 1816, there was frost in every month throughout 
the year. The milky corn was frozen and rotted in the 
fields, filling the air with a disagreeable odor. Fourteen 
years after that, Sharp D. Lewis, Esq., editor of the Sus- 
quehanna Democrat, received a fine mess of green peas 
in the pod, accompanied with the following note : — 

"Nanticoke, November 17th, 1830. 
" Mrs. Washington Lee desires Mr. Lewis's acceptance 
of the accompanying instance of the unusual length and 
mildness of the present season." 

In 1843, apples as large as walnuts were killed, by 
frost, on the trees. 

We find on record a few instances of the state of the 
weather a hundred years ago. In 1755, there was great 
heat and drought in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and 
Maryland. No rain had fallen for the space of eight 
weeks, and the governors of these several provinces, by 
proclamation, appointed a day of fasting and prayer, call- 
ing on the people to entreat heaven for rain and for tHe 
success of Braddock's army. Kain was granted, but 
Braddock was defeated. 

The commanding officer at Fort Augusta (Sunbury), 
writing to the provincial authorities, under date of May 
26th, 1758, says, "It is snowing here, and the ground is 
covered." 

In more modern times we learn, that November 14th, 
1819, the Susquehanna, at Wilkesbarre, was frozen over, 
and persons crossed on the ice. At the same place, on 
the 26th of March, 1836, loaded sleds crossed the river 
on the ice. 

There are cases of extraordinary changes on record. 
For instance, October 4th, 1836, the weather was warm 



478 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



and pleasant — next day the snow fell to the depth of 
11 inches. 

On the 19th of May, 1857, the mercury in the ther- 
mometer stood at 82°. The next day snow fell on the 
Pokono Mountain to the depth of 18 inches, and in the 
Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys its depth was 10 
inches. 

January 26th, 1821, the mercury stood 23° below zero, 
and on the 27th, 3° below. In 1857, on the 24th, 25th, 
and 26th of January, the mercury stood at 30°, 22°, and 
23°, respectively, below zero. On the 27th of the same 
month, it rose to 1° below zero. 

The average temperature in our valley, during the day 
time, from the 15th of May to the 15th of September, is 
about 75° Fah. 

FLOODS. 

The valley of the Susquehanna, in common with others 
coursed through by broad, shallow rivers, has suffered at 
different periods from disastrous inundations. In January, 
1784, snow fell in Wyoming and the surrounding coun- 
try to the depth of four feet, cutting off all communication 
between the state authorities at Philadelphia, and the 
Pennamite garrison in the valley. The soldiers at Fort 
Dickinson, so called by the Pennamites, or, by the Yan- 
kees, Fort Wyoming, were compelled to keep close quar- 
ters, and for sometime were unable to visit the surround- 
ing forest for fuel. The scattered inhabitants of the 
valley were barricaded in their dwellings, and could not 
call upon, or be called upon by their neighbors. In the 
following March the snow passed off with rain, producing 
what is known in the tradition of the country as the 
great Ice Flood. The Susquehanna and its tributaries 
were covered with thick ice, for the winter's cold had 
been unusually severe. It broke up suddenly in the 



CLIMATE. 479 



spring, and the river rose with alarming rapidity. It is 
related that the ice in the region of the present Nanti- 
coke dam remained firm and unbroken, while immense 
masses of loose ice from above were swept down, and 
lodged in the lower part of the valley, piling up in vast 
heaps, and forming a barrier to the free progress of the 
water. " One general inundation overspread the plains 
of Wyoming. The inhabitants took refuge on the sur- 
rounding heights, many being rescued from the roofs of 
their floating houses." When the accumulating pressure 
of the flood broke through the icy barrier, houses and 
barns, stacks of grain and of hay, horses, cattle, and 
swine were swept from the face of the earth. Major 
James Moore, writing under date of March 20th, 1784, 
from the fort at Wilkesbarre, to Mr. Dickinson, president 
of the Supreme Executive Council, says, " The people in 
this country have suffered exceedingly from the late 
freshet. Not less than 150 houses have been carried 
away. The grain is principally lost, and a very consi- 
derable part of the cattle drowned. The water was 30 
feet above low-water mark. The water was so high in 
the garrison that some of the ammunition was injured." 
The huge blocks of ice, which were left on the plains 
after the inundation had subsided, remained unmelted 
by the sun's rays during the greater part of the ensuing 
summer. 

In October, 1786, occurred what is called the PumpJdn 
Flood, from the vast quantities of that vegetable, which 
were carried down and strewed over the lower plains of 
the Susquehanna. In a letter, dated at Wilkesbarre, 
November 7th, 1786, written by John Franklin to Dr. 
Joseph Hamilton, the flood is thus described : — 

" I expect you have heard of the late deluge. The 
rain on the oth of October, which fell in about twenty- 



480 ANNALSOF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



four hours, raised the river about six feet, and in the 
narrows ten feet deeper than ever known. The small 
streams became mighty rivers. The mills are mostly 
swept off, and one-half of all kind of food for man and 
beast is for ever lost. Even the roots in the earth, such 
as potatoes, turnips, parsnips, &c., are mostly rotten in 
the earth. The greatest part of the rain fell in the after- 
noon and evening of the 5th. The Susquehanna river, 
that was fordable at four of the clock in the afternoon, 
was over the face of the earth, from mountain to moun- 
tain, at six o'clock the morning of the 6th. It is sur- 
prising to see the mountains in the smallest runs of w^ater. 
You may see stones, from three pounds to three tons 
weight, drove to a great distance, and hove up in heaps. 
A stone, judged to weigh two tons, lies mounted on two 
stumps, near Toby's Creek, that was drove from a con- 
siderable distance. A number of cattle were drowned. 
Our fences are all gone. One man was drowned attempt- 
ing to save some effects." 

From the statements we have, it would appear that 
the pumpkin flood was higher than the ice flood by six 
or ten feet, or that it rose forty feet above low-water 
mark. But the former seems not to have been so disas- 
trous as the latter, for the reason that there was no 
heaping up, and sudden rush of the flood, producing a 
current of irresistible force. In the pumpkin flood men 
were seen paddling their canoes through the swelling 
tide, and rescuing women and children from houses half 
filled with water. A few horses, held by the head by men 
in canoes, swam to the shore, while others, with most of 
the horned cattle, sheep, and swine, were swept away 
and lost. 

The incidents and hairbreadth escapes of the two floods, 
occurring so near together, have likely become mixed, 



CLIMATE. 481 



and those of the ice assigned to the pumpkin flood, and 
vice versa. 

It is related that the late Rev. Benjamin Bidlack, then 
a powerful muscular man, was swept down the river in 
his dwelling-house, in the ice flood,* during the night. 
The house started from Plymouth, and was followed by 
people along the shore with torchlights. Sometimes the 
house would lodge on an obstruction, and after a short 
pause would be carried forward. On these occasions the 
stentorian voice of the soldier was heard above the loud 
roar of the waters and crashing of the ice, " Now I am 
standing still" — " Now I am going forward." The build- 
ing was permanently lodged among the trees, near Mr. 
Harvey's coal-mine, and Mr. Bidlack, thanks to his great 
endurance and strength, made a happy escape. 

The widow Jameson, whose house stood near the resi- 
dence of the late James Lee, Esq., in Hanover, with her 
small children, was taken from the second story of the 
building into a canoe. 

A horse was drowned in a stable, near the present 
residence of S. Leonard Thurlow, Esq., in Wilkesbarre. 

The late Mrs. Myers, with her father's family, escaped 
from their dwelling in Kingston, during the ice flood, in 
a canoe, soon after which the house was carried away, 
and the spot where it stood covered by an immense pile 
of ice. 

Persons familiar with the localities referred to in the 
foregoing statements may form a pretty correct idea of 
the extent of these floods. 

It is said the Indians informed the whites that they 
had no tradition respecting any flood having swept over 
the plains of Wyoming. This may be doubted, but if 
true, it may be an interesting question how far the clear- 
ing out of the country, and the removal of the forests, 
31 



482 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



have affected the river, by allowing the snows to melt 
more rapidlj^, and affording a freer passage for the waters 
of the tributary streams. The channel of the Susque- 
hanna is wider and deeper now than it was a hundred 
years ago, though bearing no greater volume of water to 
the ocean, and since the ice and pumpkin floods the 
valley has been several times more or less inundated. 

In July, 1809, the Susquehanna rose 16 feet above 
low-water mark, and, inundating the lower flats, destroyed 
the grain. In January, 1831, the flats were again inun- 
dated; and again, in May, 1833,, the low-lands were 
flooded by the high water. Arks and rafts, torn from 
their moorings in the smaller streams, came floating down 
the swollen flood without men to guide them. Stacks of 
hay floated by covered with living poultry. As they 
passed Wilkesbarre the cocks crowed lustily, intimat- 
ing to their brethren of the borough that their heads 
were still above water. In January, 1841, the weather 
suddenly changed from cold to warm, accompanied with 
rain, which rapidly melted the snow, and produced an 
inundation of the low country along the Susquehanna 
and Lackawanna. But its effects on the Lehigh were of 
the most terrible and destructive character. The water 
rushed into the cellars and first stories of the stores and 
dwellings in Mauch Chunk in the night. Several build- 
ings were swept away, and the streets were filled wdth 
logs and trees, washed down from the surrounding moun- 
tains. The whole population, roused from their beds, 
fled, in the utmost alarm, to the high grounds above the 
village. Bridges, saw-mills, grist-mills, dwellings, barns, 
household furniture, canal boats, horses, cattle, and human 
beings were hurried promiscuously away on the bosom of 
the angry waters. 

The works of the Lehigh Navigation Company^ the 



CLIMATE. 483 



Beaver Meadow Company, and the Schuylkill Navigation 
Company, sustained great injury ; and the villages of 
Lehighton and Weissport shared the fate of Mauch 
Chunk. In this dreadful catastrophe thirteen persons, 
principally women and children, lost their lives. 

In 1842, and 1843, extraordinary floods again occurred 
in the Susquehanna and its tributaries ; and in the spring 
of 1846, the water stood 3 J feet deep on the river bank 
opposite the Phoenix Hotel, in Wilkesbarre. This was 
the highest freshet known since the pumpkin flood of 
1786.* It, indeed, caused much more damage, reckoned 
in dollars and cents, but the country was much better 
able to bear the loss then than in the last century. The 
flood of 1846 carried away a number of costly bridges on 
the Susquehanna, and greatly damaged the public im- 
provements of the Commonwealth. For many weeks after 
the flood had subsided, the flats were covered with ice. 

In July, 1850, a dam on Racket's Creek was swept 
away by the high water, and Carbondale was inundated. 
At the foot of Plane No. 1, cars, buildings, and drift- 
wood were heaped together in a promiscuous mass of 
ruins. The Lackawanna flooded several of the mines, 
but the workmen, with the exception of two, who were 
drowned, escaped. 

The loss sustained by the Delaware and Hudson Canal 
Company exceeded $75,000. The Susquehanna over- 
flowed its banks, and, it being the midst of harvest, the 
river was covered with sheaves and shocks of grain. 
Bridges were carried away, and no mails reached Pittston, 
Wilkesbarre, or Scranton for several days. 

But the most destructive flood that ever occurred in 
Luzerne and adjoining counties, was occasioned by a con- 
tinued heavy rain, which fell in the early part of Sep- 

* For an account of the destructive flood in the Lehigh in 1862, and the 
great flood in the Susquehanna in 1805, see Appendix Y. 



484 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



tember, 1850. In our county the loss of life and property 
was greatest on the small streams. Solomon's Creek 
rushed down the mountain's side with fearful impetuosity, 
destroying the public highway and the improvements of 
the Lehigh and Susquehanna Company at the foot of the 
plane. The Wapwallopen, with its increased volume, 
dashed madly over the country, sweeping away two of 
the powder-mills of Messrs. Knapp and Parrish. The 
Nescopeck, undermining the dam above the forge of S. F. 
Headley, Esq., bore off to the Susquehanna on its turbu- 
lent flood the lifeless bodies of twenty-two men, women, 
and children. 

These unfortunate people had assembled in one house 
near the forge. The house stood upon elevated ground, 
and was supposed to be the best place for safety. One 
man, fearing to trust to the stability of the house, took 
up his child in his arms, and calling to his wife, who 
refused to follow, rushed through the rising waters, and 
gained the hill-side. When he turned to look behind 
him, house, wife, and friends had disappeared. 

All the low lands along the Susquehanna were covered 
with water, and as usual on such occasions, the commu- 
nication between Wilkesbarre and Kingston was carried 
on by means of boats. 

At Tamaqua forty dwellings were swept away, and 
thirty-three persons were drowned, sixteen being members 
of one family ; and the damage sustained at this place 
was estimated at $500,000. At Port Clinton twenty-six 
persons were drowned, eleven of whom constituted a 
family of father, mother, and nine children. 

HURRICANES. 

The first hurricane or tornado in Luzerne, of which we 
have any record, made its destructive passage through 



CLIMATE. 485 

our forests in 1796. It passed over the country from 
west to east, unroofing barns and dwellings, and produc- 
ing on the head-waters of the Lehigh what, among the 
old inhabitants, was called " The Great Windfall." The 
road leading from Wilkesbarre to Easton was completely 
barricaded with fallen trees, which it required several 
months of labor to remove. Our county appropriated 
$250 towards the expense. 

In February, 1824, a most terrific hurricane passed up 
the Susquehanna river, prostrating fences, trees, barns, 
and dwellings. Such was its power that it lifted the 
entire superstructure of the Wilkesbarre Bridge from its 
piers, and bore it some distance up the river, where it 
fell on the ice with a thundering crash. 

On the 3d of July, 1834, a hurricane, sweeping from 
the north-east to the south-west, nearly destroyed the 
village, now the borough, of Providence. The office of 
E. S. Potter, Esq., was raised from its foundation, and, 
with Mr. P. and Otis Severance, who were in the building, 
it was removed several yards from its original position. 
An unfinished church was blown down, and the frame 
was carried to a great distance. Dr. Hollister informs us 
that a young woman, who had taken refuge in a feather- 
bed during the storm, was lifted, bed and all, through the 
roofless house, and safely landed several rods distant. 
We visited Providence a few days after this catastrophe, 
and if our remembrance is correct, there was only one 
uninjured building in the town. Every tree within the 
sweep of the wind was laid low. 

In 1835, a similar hurricane passed through Wilkes- 
barre township from west to east, blowing down orchards, 
unroofing buildings, and prostrating the trees of the forest. 
Mr. McCarrier was lifted by the wind, and transported 
from his barn to the door-yard of his house. 



486 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



Almost every region of country is subject to floods and 
hurricanes of a more or less violent character. We have 
noted only those occurring among us, which were par- 
ticularly destructive, and which, at the time, made a 
serious impression on the public mind. To many they 
will appear of small consequence, but there are some to 
whom they will ever remain subjects of curious, if not of 
fearful interest. 

DISEASES, PHYSICIANS. 

Man, of course, is subject to disease and death in our 
climate, as well as in all others ; but, according to the 
census of 1850, the number of deaths in Luzerne during 
that year, was only 383. This in a population of 56,072 
is a very small proportion, and argues well for the health- 
fulness of the climate or the skill of our physicians. The 
proportion of deaths in Pennsylvania is estimated at seven 
annually for every hundred families, and as the families 
of the county numbered 9672 at the last census, the 
number of deaths among us, by this calculation, should 
have been about 675.^^ 

Dr. William Hooker Smith, Dr. Joseph Sprague, and 
Dr. Gustin were the earliest physicians in the valley. 
They were all in the battle of 1778, and the last-named 
gentleman received a bullet through his hat. 

In 1777, Jeremiah Ross returned from Philadelphia, 
where he had been on a visit, and brought with him the 
small-pox. This terrible ravager of the human family 
could at that time be only successfully met by the process 
of inoculation. Others in the settlements contracted the 
disease, and great alarm prevailed among the people. 
Pest-houses were established in each township, half a 
mile from any road, where persons who had not been 
inoculated were placed under treatment. The small-pox 
was a great terror to the Indians, and it is related that 



CLIMATE. 487 



when they entered Forty Fort after the battle the women 
cried out, " Small-pox ! small-pox !" The savages, how- 
ever, understood the ruse, and were not to be deterred 
from their work of plunder. 

A malignant disease, called putrid fever, prevailed in 
1778. It was contagious, and several died. In 1794, a 
fatal form of typhus fever raged along the Susquehanna, 
and baffled the skill of the physicians. The disease was 
supposed to be yellow fever, and in some localities whole 
families fell victims to its ravages.^* 

The fever and ague has raged at various periods along 
the Susquehanna ever since the white man appeared on 
its banks. Shikellimus, the viceroy of the Six Nations, 
residing at Shamokin, died from this disease in 1749. 

Dr. Nathaniel Giddings located himself in Pittston 
township in 1783, and pursued his profession for more 
than half a century. Dr. Matthew Covell, previous to 
the present century, located himself permanently in 
Wilkesbarre. Dr. Samuel Baldwin resided part of the 
time in Wilkesbarre, and afterwards in Kingston. Dr. 
Oliver Bigelow was located at Forty Fort, and left Wyo- 
ming sixty years ago. Dr. Crissey, one of the early 
physicians, was located at Plymouth. Dr. Samuel Hay- 
den lived in Huntington township, and afterwards in 
Braintrim. He was a very successful practitioner, and a 
very eccentric man. Between 1800 and 1810, Drs. 
Covell and George W. Trott were practicing in Wilkes- 
barre ; Drs. Baldwin and Eleazar Parker in Kingston ; 
and Drs. Gay lord and Crissey in Plymouth. 

From 1810 to 1820, Drs. Covell, Baldwin, W. B. Gid- 
dings, Gaylord, Parker, Asa C. Whitney, and Dr. John 
Smith, were practicing in Wyoming Valley. 

Dr. Silas Robinson, who died lately in Providence, was 
the oldest physician in the Lackawanna Valley. He 
commenced practice in 1811. 



CHAPTERXVII. 

WILD ANIMALS.— HUNTINa.— FISHING. 

" Listen how the hounds and horn, « 

Cheerily rouse the slumbering morn, 
From the side of some hoar hill> 

Through the high woods echoing shrill." 

Our valleys and mountains were once favorite hunting- 
grounds for the Red men, who came down annually by 
hundreds from the country of the Six Nations, to supply 
themselves with delicious game. The streams in the land 
of the confederacy abounded in excellent fish, which prof- 
fered a sweet repast to the hungry Indian, but when he 
sought to stir his blood with the excitement of the chase, 
and follow the steps of the bounding deer, he visited the 
high mountains and deep forests of Pennsylvania. After 
the whites began to spread themselves through this por- 
tion of the state, many of them, like the aborigines, pre- 
ferred the pleasures of the chase to the pursuits of 
agriculture, and found it more agreeable to depend on 
their rifles than on their plows for the comforts of life. 
Almost every pioneer family had one or two rifles, some- 
times more, and the young as well as the old were expert 
in handling them. Even the gentler sex did not hesitate 
occasionally to lift the manly weapon, and send the leaden 
messenger on its errand of sport or of death. 

Of the wild carnivorous animals which inhabited this 
region the cougar was the largest, and was known amouii- 

(488) 



WILD ANIMALS. — HUNTING. — FISHING. 489 



the early settlers and hunters as the panther, generally 
called the painter. Its color is of a brownish red, with 
small patches of a deeper tint, which disappear as the 
animal advances in age. The abdomen is of a pale red- 
dish color, and the lower jaw and throat are white. It 
belongs to the species of the cat kind, is sly and treach- 
erous, climbs trees, wanders at night in search of food, 
and bounds from the earth towards its prey with an 
agility and power and deadly aim unsurpassed by any 
other animal. When full-grown, its weight is about one 
hundred and fifty pounds. 

From 1808 to 1820, the bounty paid by Luzerne county 
on panther scalps, amounted to $1822, upwards of 50 
being killed in one year. 

Since arriving at manhood's years, we have read the 
works of Cummings and Gerard, th - great Scotch and 
French lion-hunters, and, when a boy, we listened with 
the most soul-absorbing interest to the wonderful adven- 
tures of the old hunters of Luzerne, their surprising 
achievements, their hairbreadth escapes, and we are con- 
fident the hunters of our own land displayed as much 
coolness and courage, as much skill and physical endur- 
ance, as the famous forest heroes of other climes. Gerard, 
it is said, is the best rifle-shot in Europe, but one of the 
Lutzeys could cut a wild turkey's throat with a rifle-ball 
at twenty rods. 

About the close of the Revolutionary War, a Captain 
Mitchell was stationed with a company of troops at Wyo- 
ming ; and one of his sergeants, named McNeily, was said 
to have no superior in the army as a rifle-shooter. When 
he came to Wyoming, however, he surrendered to Ishmael 
Bennett, and such was his complete confidence in Ben- 
nett's aim, or sight, that he frequently held a board, six 
inches square, with a white spot in the entre, under his 



490 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



arm, while Bennett, at twenty rods distance, would send 
bullet after bullet through the centre. 

There are no panthers in this county at present, 
except occasionally one may be met with in the great 
swamps, or on the North Mountain. One was killed 
about three years ago in Sullivan county, near the Lu- 
zerne line, which measured nine feet from the tip of the 
nose to the end of the tail. A volume of interesting 
panther-hunting adventures could be written, but space 
will permit us to record only three. 



WHEATON AND THE PANTHER. 

Wheaton had lived at Wyoming, but about the year 
1790, the population increasing, he chose rather to re- 
move into the woods, where there was less of human and 
more of the wild brute creation. One day, when on his 
way to the valley, he became weary, and lay dowm to 
rest on the Capouse Mountain. Thrown off his guard by 
fatigue, he unwarily suffered sleep to overtake him. 
After reposing for a time, he found himself in a singular 
situation. He was covered with leaves and sticks, which 
might have been done by the wind, but from a knowledge 
of the habits of the panther, he shrewdly suspected it 
was the work of that beast. The panther, when she 
finds prey which she is desirous of reserving for her 
young, covers it over with leaves with her feet, and then 
retires to bring her offspring to the banquet. Wheaton, 
lying perfectly still, heard the heavy tread of an animal 
near him. There was a pause. The step retreated, then 
stopped. He lay quiet, for his life depended on his being 
motionless. Again there were retreating footsteps, which 
became fainter and fainter, until they entirely died away. 
Wheaton still retained his motionless position for some 



IVILD ANIMALS. HUNTING. FISHING. 491 



moments, when he slowly and cautiously raised himself, 
and, looking around, saw no animal near. He hastily 
gathered some old sticks and wood, and laid them in the 
place he had occupied, and covered them with leaves. 
He then mounted into a tree near by, and rested his gun, 
well loaded, on a limb bearing directly on the spot where 
he had slept. Scarcely had he made his arrangements, 
when, in the far distance, his quick eye detected the ap- 
proach of a huge panther, accompanied by two of her 
young. Leaving the kittens a short distance behind, she 
came near the place where she had concealed their din- 
ner. She now crouched with her belly to the earth, and 
stretching out her horrid claws, she sprang aloft into the 
air, and down on the spot covered with leaves. The dust 
and sticks and rotten wood flew in all directions. She 
drooped with disappointment, then quickly cast her eye 
about to every quarter of the compass. Suddenly as the 
thought that struck her she looked upwards, and saw 
Wheaton in the tree. With a low, ferocious growl she 
crouched for a deadly spring. If his gun misses fire, if 
he misses his aim, he has not thirty seconds to live. But 
old smooth hove, as usual, proves true ; two buckshot pene- 
trate the brain of the savage monster, and she lay quiver- 
ing and dying on the spot where "Wheaton had enjoyed 
his mountain dream. 

SOX AND THE PANTHERS. 

George Sox, who still resides on the Easton and 
Wilkesbarre Turnpike, beyond Bear Creek, was a great 
hunter. He was particularly fond of pursuing the panther. 
However, no sort of tenants of the woods could escape 
the unerring aim of George's trusty rifle. He once shot 
a deer which was perfectly white. It had frequently been 
seen in the forest, and had been shot at by the wandering 



492 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



hunters, but no bullet had ever hit it. A report became 
current that it was a witch deer, but George destroyed 
the charm. Having obtained a sight one day of the 
beautiful creature, it fell before his rifle, and rumor said 
the shot was made with a silver bullet. 

In 1819 he caught in a trap a large bear which weighed 
upwards of 400 pounds. In the morning, about the 
breaking of day, he approached his trap, and saw the 
bear engaged in a contest of defense against three pan- 
thers, which fled as he came near. Taking the bear 
.home on a sled, he filled his knapsack, and, without a 
word of explanation to his family, with his rifle and dog 
as companions, he started in pursuit of the three panthers, 
which had been about to breakfast on his bear. There 
was a good tracking snow on the ground, and the hunter 
found no difficulty in keeping the trail of the beasts. On, 
on, from daylight to sunset, he pressed his way until, in 
the shadows of the evening, he came upon a fine buck 
which the panthers had killed, and which was still warm. 
We condense George's own statement of this hunt : " They 
had killed the buck where he lay. I had not expected 
to come on them so soon, and had pushed ahead without 
caution, so that they had heard my approach, and must 
have started away just as I came up. As it was sunset, 
I concluded to encamp there ; but first I thought I would 
look around a little, and see which track it would be best 
to follow in the morning, as they had all started off in 
different directions from the buck. So I went a little 
way into the swamp, and, will you believe it, one of the 
curses had been watching me all the time, and I heard 
him start within ten rods of me. Away went the dog 
after him, full yelp. I heard the panther take up a tree. 
I ran as hard as I could, tumbling over old logs, and 
scrambling through the laurel, till I came where Toby 



WILD ANIMALS. — HUNTING. — FISHING. 493 



was barking and shaking his tail, mightily tickled that 
we had got one of them, anyhow. As it was getting 
dark I scarcely knew whether to venture a shot or not, 
for I could faintly see him stretched out on a limb of a 
large hemlock. However, I thought I would try it, so I 
took the best aim I could and fired away. The devilish 
thing never stirred. In a short time I saw motion in his 
tail, and I could hear his nails gritting in the bark of the 
tree; then I saw his bod}^ slide round the limb till he 
only hung by his claws. The ball had hit him, he let go 
his hold, and down he came souse ! dead as a door-nail ! 
I let him lay there and went back ; cut off some slices of 
the buck, which the panthers had left, roasted them 
before a fire, eat and lay down to rest till morning. Next 
morning started early, and soon got on the track of the 
other two panthers. About noon one of them took up a 
tree ; oh, said I, I have got another one. Directly I came 
up and spied him. I let drive, and down he came as 
dead as if he never had been alive. Well, I skinned 
him and fastened his skin to my knapsack, and away I 
started for the other one. The last fellow kept dodging 
about, first one way and then another, as if he expected 
to find his companions. In about two hours I roused 
him from behind a log. The dog was close on him, so 
he thought it was best to tree. I knew by the barking 
that the panther had tree'd. When I came up it was a long 
time before I could find him, he was so hid away in the 
limbs and the leaves. I could only see what I took to be 
his shoulder. I took a fair sight and drew trigger. He 
did not budge ! I started to climb up to him, for I was 
sure I had hit him. Before I had got half up, his head 
and foreparts slid forwards, and down he came ! I skin- 
ned him, went back to the one I had killed first, skinned 
him, and got home that night." 



494 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



George is the worthy son of a worthy sire. His father, 
Conrad Sox, Esq., was a justice of the peace for many 
years, in Luzerne county. He once shot a huge panther, 
resting his rifle on the shoulder of his wife, George's 
mother. This scene is well described by Wilson, in his 
poem of the Foresters. We have often stopped at 
George's house, when traveling that way, and have drank 
many a cup of excellent coffee, and have eaten delicious 
slices of venison, at his table. Long may the bold hunter 
and generous man live to enjoy the blessings of life in a 
good old age. 

ARNOLD AND THE PANTHER. 

Arnold, a hunter, lived in Hanover township, on the 
mountain, about six miles south-west from Wilkesbarre. 
As he was returning home one day in the dusk of the 
evening, after his work was done, he discovered a large 
panther crouched overhead on a limb of a tree, which 
stood near the path he was traveling. Hastening to his 
home, about half a mile distant, he loaded his rifle, and, 
accompanied by his wife and a small dog, he set off for 
the attack. They cautiously approached the spot where 
the crouching panther lay. Mrs. Arnold held up a pine 
torch-light, which threw its feeble rays on the surround- 
ing darkness. By this imperfect light the old hunter 
drew up his gun and took aim. He fired, and only 
wounded the panther. The beast, now rendered furious, 
leaped instantly down, and sprang upon Mrs. Arnold. 
There was no time to reload the rifle, the torch-light was 
out, and Mrs. Arnold was on the ground under the tear- 
ing claws of the savage panther. The dog seized the 
beast by the hind-leg inflicting wounds, while Arnold 
himself, nerved by the screams and groans of his wife, 
dealt heavy blows on his head with the butt of his rifle. 



WILD ANIMALS. HUNTING. FISHING. 495 



Suddenly the panther turned about, took up the little 
dog in his mouth, and amidst poor Jack's distressing cries 
rushed into the thicket and disappeared. With consider- 
able difficulty Arnold bore his mangled and bleeding wife 
to his house, and after several weeks of much suffering 
she recovered, but was dreadfully disfigured. 

The Wolf, of the genus Oanis, or dog kind, was formerly 
abundant among our mountains, but it is now chiefly 
confined to the North Mountain, and the head-waters of 
Bowman's Creek. It is a crafty ravenous wild dog, about 
three and a half feet in length, and about two feet five 
inches in height. It is of various colors, mixed, black, 
gray, and brown. From 1808 to 1820, Luzerne county 
paid $2872 in bounties for the scalps of these destructive 
animals. As many as 273 were killed in one year. 

George A. Crockett, a cousin of the celebrated Colonel 
David Crockett, and a resident of Ross township, occa- 
sionally brings the scalp of a wolf to Wilkesbarre, for 
which the county treasurer pays him $25. This is equal 
to the price of five wolf scalps in the olden times. Mr. 
Crockett is a great hunter and trapper, and if the reader 
be desirous of the sport of a wolf or bear hunt let him 
visit Mr. C. He will show you the wild hunting-grounds 
of the North Mountain, and the rough and tumble sports 
of a hunter's life. He will lead you among the deep and 
intricate defiles along Bowman's Creek, and its vicinity, 
where a few years ago a hunter named Lumeraux, was 
lost, and whose mangled remains, when found, showed 
he had been eaten by wild beasts. Crockett has killed 
hundreds of deer and bears, and wolves and foxes by the 
score. He informed the writer that a short time ago he 
was out in company with a fellow-hunter named Long, 
and, the night being very wet and stormy, they took 
shelter in a deserted house in Pike's Swamp. This is 



496 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



near the place where Abraham Pike and his wife were 
taken prisoners by the Indians, on the head-waters of 
Hunlock's Creek. During the night hunters came in to the 
number of fourteen, which shows that that class of men 
is not yet extinct in Luzerne. In the morning they took 
a circle hunt. Soon after they had separated, Crockett 
shot a large buck, which fell to the ground. Long, his 
companion, instantly rushed upon it, and cut its throat, 
but not a drop of blood would flow. The buck sprang 
upon his feet, and with widely distended eyes, green and 
glassy from the death struggle, rushed towards Crockett, 
and fell lifeless at his feet. Upon an examination it was 
found that the ball had struck the deer's horn near the 
head, and did not break the skin, but stunned the animal 
so completely that the circulation of its blood ceased. 
Crockett next shot, but only wounded a black bear, when 
the beast, infuriated with pain, advanced with savage 
growls upon the hunter. He retreated, and as he Jfled he 
reloaded his rifle, turned, fired, and laid his pursuer dead 
on the earth. Its weight was 360 pounds. 

A great number of large black bears formerly dwelt 
on our mountains. In 1803, Rosett & Doyle, merchants 
in Wilkesbarre, advertised for one thousand bear-skins, 
which were supplied bv the hunters of Luzerne and parts 
adjacent. 

SCOTT AND THE BEAR. 

Many years ago, while hunting along Stafford Meadow 
Brook, a little south of Scranton, EHas Scott started a 
huge bear, which he shot but did not kill. Before he 
could reload, the infuriated beast rushed upon him with 
open jaws, striking, as he advanced, heavy blows with 
his powerful paws. Scott retreated backwards, jDunching 
the bear with the end of his rifle. He had retreated but 
a short distance when the heel of his boot caught in the 



WILD ANIMALS. — HUNTING. — FISHING. 497 



root of a tree, and he fell to the ground. The bear was 
instantly upon him, and seized one of his hands in his 
mouth ; at the same time striking him over the head and 
shoulders with his paws, inflicting severe wounds. The 
blows fell thick and fast, and Scott grew faint from suffer- 
ing, but at length he found himself in a position that he 
could reach his long hunting-knife. Exerting his remain- 
ing strength to the utmost, he plunged it into the bowels 
of the bear, which fell dead at his side. Scott is still 
living, and will carry the evidences of this conflict to his 
grave. He has been a mighty hunter in his day. In 
one year, he has killed 175 deer, 5 bears, 3 wolves, 1 
panther, and scores of wild-turkeys and other game. 

John McHenry, who resides on Fishing Creek, Colum- 
bia county, not far from the Luzerne line, is perhaps the 
oldest hunter now living in this part of the state. In 
1848, he informed the writer that he kept a record of the 
number of deer, &c., which he had killed down to the 
year 1840; and that this record numbered upwards of 
1900 deer, 65 bears, besides immense quantities of other 
wild game. A considerable portion of these was pro- 
cured within the limits of Luzerne county. Since 1840, 
he has killed annually from 10 to 30 deer, chiefly in Sul- 
livan county, on the waters of the Loyalsock. A few 
years ago we joined a party of six for the purpose of 
hunting. We went to Elise's, on the Loyalsock, where, 
just as we arrived, we met at the door of the tavern our 
old friend, McHenry, then about seventy years of age. 
With cane in one hand, and rifle in the other, he was 
starting for the woods. We had four long-eared hounds 
with us ; and when the old man saw them he shook his 
head, and remarked, " Deer run by dogs is not fit to eat." 

He is a quiet hunter, slowly penetrating to the haunts 
32 



498 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



of the deer, and shooting them when browsing or at rest; 
and woe betide the dog that meets him in the woods I 
He shoots with a rifle, and has shot three deer with one 
bullet. Two of the deer stood close and parallel to each 
other, while the third was lying down on the hillside. 
The bullet passed through the bodies of the two, and en- 
tered the neck of the third. He did not see the third deer 
until the first two fell ; when, observing it to be wounded, 




he hastened and cut its throat. The reader may con- 
clude this to be too marvellous a story for belief; but 
Mr. McHenry is a man of noted veracity, and a sure shot. 
He, with George Sox, who shot 9 bears in succession 
as they came forth from the hollow of a single tree, must 
be numbered among the living hunter-kings of America. 
On Friday, the 4th of December, 1818, about 700 men, 
residents of old Luzerne, formed a hunting-party. The 
signal was given on Frenchtown Mountain, which was 
answered by all the horns of the hunters, comprising a 
circuit of 40 miles, in the space of fifteen minntes. The 
hunters then progressed towards a centre in Wysox town- 
ship, shooting and driving the game before them, until 
the circle became too small to use guns with safety ; the 



WILD ANIMALS. — HUNTING. — FISHING. 499 



animals, were then attacked with bayonets fixed <n. poles, 
clubs, pitchforks, &c., with great success. Nearly 300 
deer, 5 bears, 9 wolves, and 11 foxes were killed. It was 
calculated that 500 deer, 10 bears, and 20 wolves escaped, 
together with a great number of smaller animals. The 
expedition was attended with many circumstances highly 
interesting to hunters, and closed as usual with great 
mirth. 

Tradition has brought down to us many interesting 
incidents connected with elk, fox, raccoon, beaver, and 
other hunting, and a number of pleasing sporting ad- 
ventures of recent date have come to our knowledge. 
But our prescribed limits will not allow us to be tempted 
into making a record of them here. We have our modern 
hunters, bold and skillful, who frequently repair to the 
haunts of the foxes, the deer, and the bear. About one 
year ago we saw, in Wilkesbarre, the carcass of a black 
bear weighing more than 300 pounds, which had been 
killed on the Bald Mountain by John Warden and others ; 
and, not long ago, we were shown the skins of four very 
fine otters taken at Harvey's Lake. 

During the fall of the year the sportsmen from Wilkes- 
barre, Pittston, Scranton, Carbondale, as well as those 
who live in the mountains, chase the bounding deer, and 
supply the villages with delicious venison. They find, 
too, along our rivers and lakes, ducks of several varieties, 
the black, w^ood, summer, buffle-head, blue-wing and 
green-wing teal, widgeon, redhead, and mallard. They 
also find in the woods wild turkeys, pheasants or rough 
grouse, quails, woodcock, English snipes, passenger or 
blue pigeons, and about ten species of plover. 

It may be remarked here that, at an early day, a great 
number of beavers harbored on the Lehigh. That river 
was almost choked in the fall and winter with their 



500 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



nuraeroas dams. They went to more northern climes 
long, long ago, where 
few and far between. 



long, long ago, where the homes of the white hunters are 



FISH AND FISHING. 

As early as 1772, a seine for catching shad in the Sus- 
quehanna was brought from Connecticut to Wyoming, 
and was held in common as the property of the town or 
settlers. The shad were very abundant in the Susque- 
hanna, and, it is said, were superior in flavor and size to 
those of the Delaware. The construction of the canal, 
and the river dams, which cost the people many millions 
of dollars, though affording facilities for conveying coal 
and other products to market, have deprived us of a most 
valuable and abundant article of food. There were 21 
shad fisheries in Luzerne county, 9 of which were in 
Wyoming Valley, each furnishing annually thousands of 
delicious fish. Shad were so abundant that they sold for 
from 3 to 6 cents apiece, and upon several occasions a 
sufficient quantity of salt could not be procured for curing 
purposes. From about the 10th of April to the 10th of 
June, almost every man, woman, and child within twenty 
miles of the Susquehanna, feasted and fattened on fresh 
shad, and every family salted down from one to three 
barrels for use during the remainder of the year. This 
question occurs to our mind — Suppose the dams in the 
river were destroyed, and the business of the canal were 
done by railroad, would not the annual supply of shad 
add more to the comfort and wealth of the people than 
the river in its present condition ? 

There was a fishery at Berwick and Nescopeck, one at 
Beach Haven, and three or four between Beach Haven 
and Nanticoke. There was one at each of the following 



WILD ANIMALS. — HUNTING. FISHING. 501 



places : Fish Island, Stewart's, Plymouth, Wilkesbarre, 
and Forty Fort. There were two on Monockacy Island, 
one on Scovel Island, and several others, all producing 
the article in vast quantities. Many years ago, at Stew- 
art's fishery, 10,000 shad were taken at a single haul. 
The seine could not be drawn to the shore, and the shad 
were scooped into boats, thence loaded into wagons, and 
drawn away. This story, emphatically a fish story, is 
nevertheless true. We obtained the statement from the 
lips of a most truthful person, who was present, and saw 
the extraordinary haul. This was called the widow's 
haul, because a certain widow had an interest in the seine, 
and the fish taken on that occasion belonged exclusively 
to her. 

A few hundred shad were caught at a fishery below the 
Nanticoke dam as late as 1832-3, but none are now 
taken in the Susquehanna above Columbia, in Lancaster 
county, and they sell in this region at from 35 to 50 cents 
apiece. If the dams were removed and the fish could pass 
freely up the river, we might calculate on ten millions of 
shad annually between the mouth of the Chesapeake and 
the New York state line. These at 10 cents apiece would 
be worth one million of dollars, and the poor man might 
always have an abundance of a cheap and nutritious 
article of food in his house. 

In 1802, an attempt was made to introduce salmon 
from the Connecticut into the Susquehanna river, at 
Northumberland. Money to defray the expense was pro- 
cured by subscription in Wilkesbarre, Northumberland, 
Sunbury, and at other points. Dr. Joseph Priestley, Thos. 
Cooper, John Cowden, B. F. Young, and Wm. Spring, of 
Northumberland county, were appointed a committee to 
procure and introduce the finely-flavored inhabitant of 
the New England waters, to their new aquatic territory 



5U2 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



in Pennsylvania. The salmon were placed in both 
branches of the Susquehanna, at Northumberland, but 
the experiment proved a failure. Very few, if any, of the 
genuine stock of that fish have ever been taken in the 
waters of our river. 

We have heard it stated that the rockfish, Golius 
niger, frequented the upper waters of the Susquehanna, 
and we have a record of one being caught at Wilkesbarre, 
on the 26th of June, 1779, by a soldier in Sullivan's 
army. It measured two feet nine inches in length, and 
weighed twenty-seven pounds. General Sullivan and 
Staff dined on the big fish.^^ But we doubt that this was 
the genuine rockfish, of the species above mentioned. It 
was probably what is known as the Susquehanna bass, 
of the genus Labrax, an excellent fish, weighing from 
eight to thirty pounds, and frequently taken in deep 
water, through holes cut in the ice. 

The pike, Esox, is a long, sharp-pointed fish, of vora- 
cious appetite, and may be called the shark of the fresh 
water. It is found in the deep and sluggish pools of the 
rivers. It has been introduced, at various times, into 
Harvey's and other lakes and ponds of the coimty, until 
they are now quite abundant. They have, however, 
destroyed nearly all the trout in these lakes, to which 
they are, in our opinion, inferior in flavor, and whose 
loss they cannot replace. 

The trout is a scaleless fish, variegated with spots of 
beautiful appearance, and considered by most persons as 
by far the most deliciously-flavored fish in our waters. 
They are seldom taken in the Susquehanna, but are con- 
fined to the headwaters of the creeks, the cool mountain 
streams, overhung by evergreens, where only are heard 
the singing of birds and the sound of crystal waters, 
dashing along the shores as they pass to the valleys 



WILD ANIMALS. — HUNTING. — FISHING. 503 



below. To these charming shades the fisherman repairs, 
and 

" Far up the stream the trusted hair he throws, 
Which dowD the murmuring current quickly flows ; 
When if or chance, or hunger's powerful sway, 
Directs the roving trout this fatal way, 
He greedily sucks in the twining bait. 
And tugs and nibbles the fallacious meat ; 
Now, happy fisherman, now twitch the line, 
How the rod bends ! behold the prize is thine." 

Many extraordinary fishing stories are related of the 
early times in our valley ; as, for instance, catching a 
chub and eel, at the same time, with one hook. The 
chub swallowed the hook, which passed out through the 
gill, with the bait remaining upon it, which was then 
taken by an eel. 

We have often heard an incident related, which oc- 
curred at the Nanticoke Falls, several years before the 
dam was erected. A fisherman placed his eel-basket 
above the rapids, and caught a pike six feet in length, 
weighing one hundred and sixt}' pounds. The pike was 
of such enormous size and strength, that the basket was 
torn from its fastenings, and went whirling and dashing 
with its contents through the falls. But it was taken up 
and brought to shore by fishermen further down the river. 
The story of the big pike spread through the neighbor- 
hood, and the curious flocked to the fishery to behold the 
monster. To their astonishment, they were informed 
that Abraham Pike, a noted old soldier and Indian killer, 
had visited the eel-basket in a canoe, which had capsized 
and plunged him headlong into the river. He was caught 
in the basket, and both basket and Pike were carried 
down stream together. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 
BANKS AND BANKERS. 

The Jews, it is said, were the first bankers or money 
changers, and seated themselves, in ancient times, on 
benches, in the market-places, where they loaned and 
exchanged money. From this custom, continued for hun- 
dreds of years in the cities of Italy, is derived the word 
Bank, in the Italian language, Banco, signifying bench. 
In Holy Writ we read that, at one time, a number of the 
money-changers seated themselves in the great temple at 
Jerusalem, but that their tables were overturned, and 
they were expelled by our Saviour. This circumstance 
teaches us to be careful to what uses we appropriate our 
houses of worship. 

The first bank of issue, discount, and deposite, of which 
we have any correct information, was established in 
Venice, in 1171. The second, the Bank of Amsterdam, 
originated in 1609 ; the Bank of Hamburg, in 1619 ; and 
the Bank of England, in 1693. 

In the United States, during the Revolutionary War, 
the government issued paper, called continental money, 
which depreciated in value, until $600 were required to 
purchase a pair of boots. These notes finally took the 
name of shin-plasters, and became entirely worthless. 

The first incorporated bank of issue, discount, and 
deposite in this country was the Bank of North America. 

(504) 



BANKS AND BANKERS. 505 



It was located at Philadelphia, and started in the year 
1781, with a capital, of $800,000. The Massachusetts 
Bank and the Bank of New York were incorporated in 
1784. The Bank of the United States was incorporated in 
1791, with a capital of $10,000,000. In 1803, there were 
twenty-five banks in the United States, with an aggregate 
capital of $26,707,000. 

In 1810, the Philadelphia Bank established a branch 
at Wilkesbarre, of which Ebenezer Bowman was presi- 
dent, and John Bettle cashier. The latter gentleman 
was succeeded by Joseph McCoy. The banking-house 
was located on River Street, and is now owned and occu- 
pied by Mrs. Ulp. Here deposites were made, good and 
bad paper discounted, and the notes of the parent bank, 
payable in Philadelphia, were issued until 1820, when 
the institution was discontinued. One effect of this branch 
bank was to drain the country of its silver, gold being 
almost unknown. Mr. S. Butler, who was a clerk in 
the institution, informs us that, at one time, forty thou- 
sand dollars in silver were sent to the city. The money 
was carefully enclosed in forty small boxes, and the whole 
then placed in one large box, which was put in Philip 
Reed's four-horse wagon, and covered with straw, grain, 
bags, &c. The valuable load was accompanied by Mr. 
Butler and Colonel Isaac Bowman, one of the bank direct- 
ors, and five days were occupied in the journey. " Had you 
fire-arms ?" we inquired. " Yes," said Mr. B. ; "I had a 
small pocket-pistol in my saddle-hagsT One day they 
were hailed by a man, who asked if they had any rye 
flour? "No," said Reed, "we have money." On being 
cautioned by Colonel Bowman, Reed replied, " The fel- 
low is not such a d d fool as to believe me." Fortu- 
nately no Rinaldo Rinaldini or Jack Sheppard lay con- 
cealed, with their comrades, in the " shades of death," 



506 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



or other thickets, along the old Easton Turnpike, watch- 
ing for prey, and the $40,000 were safely brought to 
Philadelphia. 

In 1811, the Easton and Wilkesbarre Turnpike Com- 
pany issued notes of the denomination of $1 and $2; 
also of 25, 12 J, and 6i cents. The great pressure of the 
times, and the scarcity of money, seemed to excuse this 
extraordinary measure. Ten thousand dollars were 
signed by Lord Butler, President, and Stephen Tuttle, 
Treasurer, and the whole was redeemed. During the 
war which followed, between England and the United 
States, the banks of the cities and country, south of New 
England, suspended specie payments, whereupon turn- 
pike and bridge companies, corporations generally, and 
some individuals, issued shin-plasters. Wilkesbarre was 
a recruiting station during the war, and the military 
officers issued their individual notes for $1 and $2, 
which circulated among the soldiers, and also the farmers, 
who received them for provisions. No one, we believe, 
ever lost a farthing by them, as they were eventually 
redeemed. 

In 1816, the Susquehanna Bank, at Wilkesbarre, was 
incorporated and organized. Joseph Sinton was chosen 
president, and the notes were engraved and signed, but, 
owing to the depressed condition of the money market 
and to other causes, they were never issued, and the 
bank never went into operation. To relieve the pressure, 
the former plan of issuing shin-plasters was resorted to 
by both companies and individuals. The Wilkesbarre 
and Nescopeck Bridge Companies put out large amounts, 
all of which were redeemed. 

The Wyoming Bank was chartered, in 1829, with a 
capital of $150,000. In 1830, it went into operation in 
the dwelling of E. Lynch, Esq., on Franklin street. 



BANKS AND BANKERS, 



507 



Benjamin Dorrance, Esq., was chosen the first president. 
Mr. Dorrance was succeeded by Garrick Mallery, Esq., 
and he by Colonel G. M. Hollenback. Edward Lynch^ 
Esq., was chosen first cashier, lately succeeded by E. S. 
Loop, Esq. The Pittston Bank was incorporated in 1857, 
capital |1 00,000. George Sanderson, Esq., president, 
succeeded by William Sweetland, Esq. ; T. M. Burton, 
cashier, succeeded by T. F. Atherton, Esq. Now merged 
in the First National, Pittston. The following hst ex- 
hibits the number of banks in the county, and the capital 
of each under the present National system : — 



Names of Banks. 


Location. 


When organized. 


Capital. 


First National . . 
Second National . 
Wyoming National 
First National . . 
Second National • 
First National . . 
First National . . 
First National . . 






Wilkesbarre. 

do. 

do. 
Scran ton. 

do. 
Pittston. 
Carbondale. 
Plymouth. 


Aug. 4, 1863. 
Sept. 23, 1863. 
Feb. 1, 1865. 
May 30, 1863. 
Sept. 1863. 
June 23, 1864. 
Dec. 1864. 
Jan. 14, 1865. 

Total capital . 


$250,000 
400.000 
150,000 
200,000 
200,000 
500,000 
110,000 
100,000 








$1,910,000 



In addition to the above there are in the county 5 
private bankers, employing an aggregate capital of $400,- 
000, making the total banking capital of the county 
$2,310,000. From 1830 to 1860 the actual banking 
capital employed did not exceed at any one time $500,- 
000. Notwithstanding the above statistics show a very 
large increase of capital, the increased developments in 
coal and other branches of industry throughout the 
county will warrant a still further addition within the 
coming year. Under the National system the notes of 
the state banks are rapidly disappearing, and it will be 
a happy day for the people of Luzerne and the whole 



508 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



country when uniformity of currency and the rate of 
interest are firmly established. The power to regulate 
the currency and rate of interest should belong to and 
be exercised by the National Government, and this can 
be done without danger to the rights of the states or 
the people. 

INSURANCE COMPANIES. 

To trace the history of insurance companies would in- 
volve us in labyrinths and mazes, from which we could 
never creditably extricate ourselves. There are, at pre- 
sent, two established, and, we believe, prosperous insur- 
ance companies in the county. The Wyoming Insurance 
Company, at Wilkesbarre, was incorporated in 1857, and 
organized in the same year, with a capital of $100,000. 
L. D. Shoemaker, Esq., was chosen president, and R. C. 
Smith, Esq., secretary. 

The Nescopeck Mutual Insurance Company, at Nesco- 
peck, was organized in 1856 ; Michael Raber was chosen 
president, and John T. Davis, secretary. 

The Huntington Valley Mutual Insurance Company 
was incorporated in 1859, and is about to be organized 
at New Columbus. 

DISTILLERIES. 

The cultivation of the grape, and the manufacturing 
of wine, were among the early pursuits of the inhabitants 
of the Old World. The pure juice of the grape is refresh- 
ing and exhilarating, but not intoxicating until fermented. 
Although men, in ancient times, got drunk, yet intoxica- 
tion was not a common vice. It was reserved for the 
ingenuity and art of subsequent ages to discover the 
latent spirit of alcohol, which steals away the senses, 
property, and lives of so many people. 



DISTILLERIES. 509 



The manufacture of whiskey was carefully attended to 
in the early settlements along the Susquehanna, and 
whiskey drinking was considered among the essentials of 
frontier life. Prior to the Revolution distilleries were 
erected on the lower waters of the Susquehanna, and the 
distillers sent agents, in 1775, to Wyoming, to purchase 
grain. We have been unable to ascertain when, by 
whom, and at what particular place, the first distillery 
in Wyoming was built. It was undoubtedly one of the 
earliest institutions of the valley. 

In 1804, there were 6 distilleries in Wilkesbarre town- 
ship, 2 in the borough, and 11 in other parts of the county. 
Besides these there were numerous domestic stills for 
making peach brandy, apple jack, &c. In 1840, there 
were 5 distilleries in the county; in 1850, only 2; and 
now there is not one. 

The spirits manufactured in those early times were 
pure, and could not be bought for 25 or 50 cents a gallon. 
To give the reader an idea of the prices of whiskey, rum, 
and other articles, we insert the following items from the 
store-books of Matthias HoUenback, kindly furnished for 
our perusa) by Colonel G. M. HoUenback. 

Mr. HoUenback was the second storekeeper in Wyo- 
ming, commencing in 1773. 

1 quart of whiskey, 9 shillings, or $1.50 

2 quarts of apple brandy, £1, " 3.33 3 
1 nip of toddy. 



1 quart of rum, 
h sling, . 

1 egg-nog, 

2 bowls of toddy, 

1 bowl of sangaree, 
1 gill of rum, 



.08 
2s. 6^. or .411 

.08 
Is. 4:d. or .22 

35. " .50 

25. lOd. " .47 

.06 



510 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



1 dram, 


• • 


• 




$0.06 


2 yards of tobacco, 


• 


, 


. 


.04 


1 bushel of wheat . 


. 55. 




or 


.83i 


1 elk skin 


£14:8. 




(( 


4.00 


1 pound of coffee, . 


Is. 


Qd. 


li 


.25 


1 spelling-book, 


3s. 


Qfl 


a 


.58i 


1 pound of loaf sugar, . 6s. 


lOd. 


a 


1.14 


1 pound of sugar. 


. Is. 


Qd. 


a 


.25 


1 pound of tobacco, 


2s. 


lOd. 


a 


.47 


1 ream of paper. 


£1 2s. 


U. 


a 


3.75 


20 bear skins. 


each Is. 


lOd. 


a 


.30 



December 15, 1774, Queen Esther Dr. to sundries £3 
11 pence. 

We have taken the £ s. d. of Mr. Hollenback's books 
to be Connecticut currency, and reduced them to dollars 
and cents. It will be borne in mind that money in that 
day was very scarce in comparison with our own times, 
and that the prices, relative to the articles purchased, 
are actually higher than appears from the statement. 
There appear on these books the names of nearly all the 
settlers, Pennamites, Yankees, and several Indians who 
occasionally visited the valley from the country of the 
Six Nations. Unless prohibited by town meeting for a 
particular purpose, it was considered lawful and legiti- 
mate to sell liquor to Indians. Their excessive fondness 
for intoxicating drinks is one powerful cause which is 
operating to produce their extermination. 

Joseph Jameson informed the writer, that, in the fall 
of 1777, Mr. Hollenback received a Durham boat laden 
with store goods, among which were several casks of 
rum ; and, as the liquor was being removed from the boat, 
a tall Indian, who had just arrived from up the river, at 
Wilkesbarre, on seeing the well-known casks containing 



WITCHES. 511 



his favorite beverage, raised his rifle over his head, fired, 
and then began to dance with joy. 

WITCHES. 

The Act, entitled "An Act against conjuration, witch- 
craft, and dealing with evil spirits," passed during the 
reign of James I., King of England, was held by the 
authorities of Pennsylvania to be in force, in the province, 
in 1683. On the 27th of December, in that year, two 
Swedish women, Margaret Mattson and Yeshro Hen- 
drickson, accused as witches, were arraigned before 
Governor William Penn and his council. Several wit- 
nesses testified respecting the singular conduct of certain 
geese, hogs, cows, &c. ; but there being no positive evi- 
dence they were bewitched by the defendants, the jury 
returned the following verdict : " They have the common 
fame of witches, but not guilty in the manner and form 
of the indictment." Governor Penn, however, required 
security for their good behavior for six months. Thus 
ended the first trial for witchcraft in Pennsylvania. 

During the last century, in Northampton and other 
counties, several persons were arrested, charged with 
witchcraft, and imprisoned, but none were put to death, 
as in New England. In Luzerne, the early inhabitants 
were, perhaps, as free from superstition as any other peo- 
ple, nevertheless a number of old women had the common 
fame of being witches. 

Mrs. J .... , at W , bewitched the cattle of 

, several of which died, in spite of the efibrts of 

Titus, an old negro witch doctor. For several days, 
Titus labored, using the ordinary remedy, a gun -barrel 
filled with a particular kind of liquid. But no effect was 
produced upon the witch, who continued, contrary to ex- 



512 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



pectation, to exercise all her bodily functions. At length, 
a fine ox was taken sick, when a new remedy was applied 
to break the spell. Miller, the sexton of the old church 
on the Public Square, taking the church key, approached 
the ox, and putting it in the animal's mouth, turned it 
about three times, repeating certain spell-breaking words, 
known only to himself. The power of the witch was 
destroyed, and the ox recovered. 

Mrs. H , near Tunkhannock, frequently bewitched 

the hunters' guns ; to remedy which a bullet was fired, 
from a gun not affected by any spell, into the body of a 
tree. So soon as the bullet became covered by the 
growth of the wood, the witch would be seized by severe 
pain in certain parts of her body, from which she would 
find no relief until she removed the spell from the gun. 

Mrs. , in the village of P , bewitched the cows 

and hogs of Mr. . The cows twisted their tails upon 

their backs, threw up the earth with their feet, bellowed, 
and ran their hind-legs up the trunks of trees. The pigs 
squealed night and day, frothed at the mouth, rolled 

over, and turned summersets. Mr. and his wife 

were in a state of consternation, expecting they them- 
selves would be seized with similar impulses for ground 
and lofty tumbling. Fortunately, a celebrated German 
witch-doctor arrived. Taking a gun-barrel, he filled it 
with a certain saline fluid, plugged up the muzzle and 
touch-hole, and placed it in the chimney corner. In a 
short time the husband of the witch came to the house, 
saying his wife was taken suddenly ill, and requesting 

Mrs. to come and see her ; but the request was not 

complied with, at the instance of the doctor, who repre- 
sented that the effect of his remedy would be counter- 
acted, if the desire of the witch were granted. The next 
day the witch sent again, urging the attendance of Mrs. 



WITCHES. 513 



, who again refused to visit her. The husband then 

placed his wife, the witch, in a wagon and conveyed hei 

to the house of Mr. , where she confessed she had 

bewitched his cattle, and implored the doctor to unstop 
the gun-barrel. This he did, and, as soon as the saline 
fluid began to flow from the muzzle, the witch was re- 
lieved, and the cows and hogs were cured. 

We may laugh at the follies of a past age, and congrat- 
ulate ourselves on the superior intelligence and improved 
condition of our own ; but observation will show us that 
every age has its absurdities and superstitions. The 
credulity of the first settlers in regard to witches, is 
equaled by the weakness of multitudes at this day, who 
cannot pass a grave-yard by night without trembling 
for fear they shall see a spook or ghost. They had 
doctors who professed to break the charm of witchcraft ; 
and we have mesmeric doctresses, clairvoyants, who tell 
us they can see through the skin and flesh of the body, 
and describe the condition of the heart, stomach, liver, 
and other parts, and can cure the latent disease if any 
exists. The witches of those days scratched upon the 
walls; the spirits of the 19th century rap on the tables. 

Our fathers believed in signs, tokens, warnings, and 
presentiments. What of that ? There are men among 
us — business-men, known as men of sound judgment — 
who will not pay out money on Monday morning until 
they have received some. For, say they, "As goes 
Monda}^, so goes all the week." There are those who will 
not finish a dwelling-house, but will leave some trifling 
thing undone, from a belief that death would be the im- 
mediate consequence of an entire completion. The falling 
or cracking of a looking-glass without any perceptible 
cause, and the running of a beet or cabbage-plant to 

33 



514 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



seed, are viewed by thousands as tokens of death in the 
family. 

Let us confess, then, that the divination and hexing 
of by-gone times, are no worse than the superstitious 
notions of the present age. 

POLITICS. 

In the formation of the Federal Constitution and Union 
there were two parties, composed of men who had stood 
shoulder to shoulder through the battles of the Revolu- 
tion. The good of the country and the preservation of 
liberty were objects dear to both, but they entertained 
different views as to the best means they should employ. 
The one advocated a strong national government, and 
were called Federalists; the other, anxious to preserve, 
as much as possible, the sovereignty of the states, were 
called Republicans. In the language of the great Jeffer- 
son, they were all Republicans and all Federalists, there 
being no difference as to the real character of the govern- 
ment. 

During the presidency of the immortal Washington, 
his signal services and vast personal influence restrained 
the formation of parties with strong well-marked lines. But 
during the administration of John Adams, after the pass- 
age of the Alien and Sedition Law, on the 14th of July, 
1798, a distinct and permanent division took place among 
the masses of the people, extending to the log-cabins of 
the frontiers. This law provided, " That if any person 
shall write, print, utter, or publish, or shall cause or pro- 
cure to be written, printed, uttered, or published, or shall 
knowingly and willingly assist or aid in writing, printing, 
uttering, or publishing, any false, scandalous, and mali- 
cious writing, or writings, against the government of the 
United States, or either House of the Congress of the United 



POLITICS. 515 



States, or the President of the United States, with intent 
to defame the said government, or either House of the 
said Congress, or the said President, or to bring them or 
either of them into contempt or disrepute, or to excite 
against them, or either or any of them, the hatred of the 
good people of the United States, or to stir up sedition 
within the United States, or to excite any unlawful com- 
binations therein for opposing or resisting any law of the 
United States, or any act of the President of the United 
States, done in pursuance of such law, or of the powers 
in him vested by the Constitution of the United States, 
or to resist, oppose, or defeat any such law or act, or to 
aid, encourage, or abet any hostile designs of any foreign 
nation against the United States, their people or govern- 
ment, then such person, being thereof convicted before 
any court of the United States having jurisdiction thereof, 
shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $2000, and by 
imprisonment not exceeding two years." 

It will be observed that this act does not declare that 
if any citizen shall do thus and so, but "if any person," 
which evidently embraces all classes, both natives and 
aliens. Prior to the enactment of this law, a number of 
Englishmen had come to the United States, and, during 
their stay, had denounced, slandered, and ridiculed the 
government. They had printed and circulated libellous, 
seditious, and insurrectionary matter. The independence 
of the colonies had not only wrested the brightest jewel 
from the British Crown, but had cut off thousands of 
Englishmen from desirable ofhces and vast possessions in 
America. These disappointed individuals would gladly 
have seen the overthrow of republicanism here, followed 
by confusion and anarchy, and perhaps the re-establish- 
ment of the authority of the mother country. A great 
number of Americans sympathized with France, then 



516 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



convulsed by a terrible revolution, and were dissatisfied 
with the course pursued by their own government towards 
that country. This law, then, was designed against the 
infamous purposes of these aliens, and of all citizens who 
sympathized with them. The Federalists, generally, 
sustained the law, but the Republicans opposed it, alleg- 
ing its provisions were too general, embracing citizens as 
well as foreigners. On this question hinged the election 
of 1800, when Mr. Jefferson was chosen President, who 
was in favor of repeal. 

The great majority of the people of Luzerne were 
Federalists, but when it was ascertained that Mr. Jeffer- 
son was elected, the Republicans, comparatively few in 
number, determined to celebrate the victory. An ox was 
roasted in the public square, and, being placed upon a 
carpenter's work-bench, was borne on the shoulders of 
men through the streets of Wilkesbarre. As the proces- 
sion moved along, men with knives cut off slices of the 
roast, and distributed them among the faithful. The beef 
was cooked rare, and, says an eye-witness, " You could 
see the blood running out of the corners of their mouths." 
There was also a four-horse wagon, in which was placed 
a liberty-pole, with the stars and stripes, supported by an 
old soldier, Mr. Brown, of Pittston, ninety years of 
age, and a number of girls, dressed in white, representing 
the several states of the Union. In front of the wagon 
marched a farmer, with a bag suspended from his shoul- 
ders, from which he sowed the streets of the town with 
wheat. Such a triumphant political display was never 
before witnessed in our county, and perhaps not since 
excelled, except by the great Whig processions of 1840. 

In early times, candidates for office presented them- 
selves for the suffrages of the people, without the form of 
a regular nomination by a delegate convention. After- 



POLITICS. 517 

wards candidates were selected by a meeting held during 
court, and composed of all persons who chose to assemble. 
When the candidates were thus selected, it was customary 
for the grand jury to recommend them to the people for 
their suffrages. In 1798, Luzerne was united with Berks 
in one congressional district, and a meeting was held in 
the latter county to select a candidate for Congress. 
Federalists and Republicans, or, as they were then called. 
Federal Republicans and Democratic Republicans, assem- 
bled together. The vote was taken, and the Democrats 
declared that Joseph Heister had a majority, while the 
Federalists insisted that Daniel Clymer had the most 
votes. At the August term of court, the grand jury 
unanimously recommended Mr. Clymer, and ordered the 
ticket to be printed in the English and German news- 
papers. But notwithstanding the advantage of Mr. Cly- 
mer in securing a recommendation by the grand jury, 
Berks county being largely Democratic, Mr. Heister was 
elected. The vote stood in Luzerne — Clymer, 695; Heis- 
ter, 105. 

During this canvass, Nathan Palmer, Esq., who had 
located at Wilkesbarre as an attorney-at-law, published 
several articles through the " Wilkesbarre Gazette," the 
only newspaper in the county, and open to both parties, 
in which he declared that Heister had a majority of the 
votes in the meeting held in Berks county. He attacked 
the Alien and Sedition law, and called on the Republicans 
to vote for Heister; proclaimed himself a Democratic 
Republican, and said, "Our government is called a Re- 
publican Government, and in this case the friends of that 
government are very properly called republicans, and 
Republican and Democrat I conceive to be synonymous 
terms." 

At the August Term of 1799, a meeting was held in 



618 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



the court-house, at Wilkesbarre, for the purpose of " fix- 
ing on a candidate to be held up at the next general 
election for the office of governor." The meeting was 
attended by " the associate judges of the court, the grand 
jury, the traverse jury, and citizens from all parts of the 
county." What is surprising, there was no collision of 
parties. At the next meeting, however, in September, 
1800, held at the court-house, for selecting candidates for 
the Senate and Assembly, the Federal Republicans, having 
a majority, secured the organization by the election of 
Lawrence Myers, Esq., to the chair. Thereupon, Benja- 
min Carpenter, Esq., proclaimed that the Democratic 
Republicans would withdraw to the house of N. Hurlbut, 
where a meeting was organized by the election of Mat- 
thias HoUenback, Esq., chairman. The Federal Repub- 
licans nominated General Lord Butler for the Senate, and 
John Franklin for Assembly. The Democratic Repub- 
licans nominated James Harris, of Centre county, for the 
Senate, and John Jenkins, of Luzerne, for the Assembly. 
At the election ensuing, the vote of Luzerne stood, for 
Butler, 590, Harris, 329 ; for Franklin, 563, Jenkins, 

365; 

In 1804, both parties held conventions at the house of 
James Scovel, in Exeter, and each convention was com- 
posed of delegates, elected in the several townships by 
their respective friends. These, as far as we can ascer- 
tain, were the first delegate conventions held in Luzerne 
to nominate candidates for office. 

The " Federalist" newspaper had been established by 
Asher Miner, Esq., at Wilkesbarre, in 1801. In 1810, 
Samuel Maffet, Esq., started the " Susquehanna Demo- 
crat," in the same town, and each party now having its 
own organ, the contest for power and office began in good 
earnest. The opposing parties, under various names. 



POLITICS. 519 



have continued the struggle down to the present time. 
Federalists, Republicans, Democrats, Whigs, Anti-Masons, 
and Native Americans have all, in their turn, been vic- 
torious, and saved the country from ridri. As long as this 
is the happy result of political strife, we have nothing to 
fear. 

All parties endorse the declaration " that all men are 
created equal," that our Constitution shall be preserved 
inviolate, and that the laws shall be upheld and faithfully 
executed. The revolution of events creates great differ- 
ences of opinion as to the best means for securing the 
prosperity and happiness of the country, though the un- 
prejudiced spectator, witnessing the fiery zeal of parties, 
is sometimes constrained to exclaim, 

" 'Tis strange such difference there should be 
Twixt tweedledum and tweedledee." 

So long as the people are honest and intelligent, we 
have nothing to fear from the machinations of designing 
and corrupt demagogues. The ballot-box is the potent 
instrument which will secure liberty and prosperity for 
us and our posterity. Party leaders often lay deep plans 
and put forth great exertions to effect their ends, but 
they are not unfrequently surprised at the decision of the 
people. 

To readers who have a taste for political statistics, the 
following statement of votes cast in Luzerne for President 
and Governor, together with the names of Congressmen, 
Senators, and Assemblymen, will not be uninteresting. 
The first election for President of the United States was 
held in January, 1789. The Electors for Pennsylvania 
were James Wilson, Samuel Potts, Edward Hand, John 
Arndt, David Grier, Lawrence Reeve, George Gibson, 
John Wood, Collinson Reed, Alexander Graydon. A 



520 



ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



new general government was about to be organized ; the 
people generally did not understand the plan of its opera- 
tion ; there were no printed tickets ; the names of the 
electors were known to but few, and there was no excite- 
ment reaching the body of the people. The consequence 
was, the electors received only 36 votes in Luzerne 
county. General Washington was the unanimous choice 
of the nation. 



1792, 
1796, 

u 

1800. 
1804, 
1808, 

u 

1812, 

u 

1816, 

1820, 

a 

1824, 

II 

1824, 

a 

1828, 



George Washington, re- 
elected without oppo- 
sition. The votes in 
Luzerne were 308 

John Adams, 407 

T. Jefferson, and others, 8 
John Adams, 572 

T. Jefferson, and others, 364 



C. C. Pinckney, 
Thomas Jefferson, 
George Clinton, 
James Madison, 
De Witt Clinton, 
James Madison, 
James Monroe, 
Rufus King, 
James Monroe, 
J. Q. Adams, 
Andrew Jackson, 
W. H. Crawford, 
J. Q. Adams, 
Henry Clay, 
Andrew Jackson, 



276 

8 

456 

407 

1242 

714 

373 

313 

377 

12 

631 

125 

31 

18 

1645 



1828, J. Q. Adams, 1435 

1832, Andrew Jackson, 1745 

" Henry Clay, 1325 

1836, Martin Van Buren, 2088 

" W. H. Harrison, 1415 

1840, Martin Van Buren, 4119 

" W. H. Harrison, 2776 

1844, James K. Polk, 4031 

" Henry Clay, 2777 

1848, Lewis Cass, 3991 

" Z. Taylor, 3516 

1852, Franklin Pierce, 5340 

" Winfield Scott, 3339 

" J. P. Hale, 79 

1856, James Buchanan, 6783 

" J. C. Fremont, 5155 

" M. Filmore, 563 

1860, A. Lincoln, 7300 

" J. C. Breckenridge, 6803 

" S. A. Douglas, 37 

" J. Bell, 139 

Home. Army. 

1864, A. Lincoln, 6646 999 

" G. B. McClellan, 9541 504 



FOR GOYERNOR. 



Thomas Mifflin was the first gov- 
ernor under the Constitution of 
1790, and held the office 9 years. 

1799, Janres Boss, votes 916 

" Thomas McKean, 259 

1802, James Ross, 680 

» Thomas McKean, 278 

1805, Thomas McKean, 670 



1805, Simon Snyder, 413 

1808, James Ross, 1239 

'• Simon Snyder, 772 

1811, Simon Snyder, 1040 

" William Tilghman, 718 

1814, Simon Snyder, 699 

" Isaac Wayne, 676 

1817, William Findley, 985 





Joseph Heister, 


POLITICS. 


Francis R. Shunk, 


521 


1817 


832 


1844, 


3649 


1820, 


William Findley, 


1124 


(( 


Joseph Markle, 


2561 


u 


Joseph Heister, 


1065 


1847, 


Francis R. Shunk, 


3296 


1823, 


Andrew Gregg, 


1291 


(( 


James Irvin, 


2048 


(( 


J. A. Shultz, 


1280 


1848, 


M. Longstreth, 


3785 


1826, 


J. A. Shultz, 


1185 


u 


William P. Johnson, 


2967 


1829^ 


George Wolfe, 


1994 


1851, 


William Bigler, 


4909 


u 


Joseph Ritner, 


124 


a 


William F. Johnson, 


3471 


1832, 


George Wolfe, 


2064 


1854, 


James Pollock, 


4884 


a 


Joseph Ritner, 


1586 


u 


William Bigler, 


4368 


1835, 


H. A. Muhlenberg, 


1886 


1857, 


William F. Packer, 


5268 


u 


Joseph Ritner, 


1488 


a 


David Wilmot, 


3536 


ii 


George Wolfe, 


618 


1860, 


A. G. Curtin, 


6662 


1838, 


David R. Porter, 


3132 


" 


Foster, 


6916 


li 


Joseph Ritner, 


2592 


1863, 


A. G. Curtin, 


7022 


1841, 


David R. Porter, 
John Banks, 


3426 
2194 


u 


G. W. Woodward, 


9808 



Prior to 1816, Luzerne, connected with Berks, Bucks, 
Northampton, Northumberland, and other counties, was 
represented in Congress by Messrs. Heister, Sitgreaves, 
Pugh, Conrad, and others, none of whom resided in Lu- 
zerne. But, in that year, David Scott, Esq., of Wilkes- 
barre, was elected to Congress. He, however, being 
appointed president judge soon after, resigned, and the 
vacancy was filled by the election of John Murray, Esq., 
of Northumberland county. 

George Denison and John Murray were elected in 1818 ; 
at which time the Congressional district was composed of 
the counties of Luzerne, Columbia, Northumberland, 
Union, Bradford, Susquehanna, Lycoming, Tioga, and 
Potter. They were elected without opposition, Mr. Mur- 
ray receiving 7423 votes, and Mr. Denison 7299. Again 
in 1820, Messrs. Murray and Denison were elected. From 
1822 to 183^2, this district was represented by Cox Ellis 
George Kreamer Samuel McKean, Philander Stephens, 
Lewis Dewart, and Alem Marr. In 1832, Luzerne and 
Columbia formed one Congressional district, and Andrew 
Beaumont was elected by 88 majority over Dr. Thomas. 
W. Miner. 



5,22 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



1834, Andrew Beaumont was again elected. 

1836, David Petrikin, of Columbia county. 

1838, " " 

1840, Benjamin A. Bidlack. 

1842, 

1844, Owen D. Leib, of Columbia county. 

1846, Chester Butler. 

1848, 

1850, Henry M. Fuller, with Wyoming, Columbia, and 

Montour. 
1852, Hendrick B. Wright. 
1854, Henry M. Fuller. 

1856, John G. Montgomery, of Montour county. Mr. 

Montgomery died before the expiration of his 
term. 

1857, Paul Leidy, of Montour. 

1858, George W. Scranton. 

1860, G. W. Scranton (died). 

1861, H. B. Wright, June, special election. 

1862, Clias. Denison, Luzerne and Susquehanna counties. 
1864, Charles Denison. 

MEMBERS FROM WESTMORELAND TO CONNECTICUT ASSEMBLY. 

April, 1774, Zebulon Butler, Timothy Smith. 

Sept., 1774, Christopher Avery, John Jenkins. 

April, 1775, Captain Z. Butler, Joseph Sluman. 

Sept., 1775, Captain Z. Butler, Major Ezekiel Pierce. 

May, 1776, John Jenkins, Solomon Strong. 

Oct., 1776, Colonel Z. Butler, Colonel Nathan Denison. 

May, 1777, John Jenkins, Isaac Tripp. 

May, 1778, Nathan Denison, Anderson Dana. 

Oct., 1778, Colonel N. Denison, Lieutenant Asahel Buck. 

May, 1779, Colonel N. Denison, Deacon John Hurlbut. 

May, 1780, John Hurlbut, Jonathan Fitch. 

Oct., 1780, Nathan Denison, John Hurlbut. 



POLITICS. 523 



May, 1781, John Hurlbut, Jonathan Fitch. 

Oct., 1781, Obadiah Gore, Captain John Franklin. 

May, 1782, Obadiah Gore, Jonathan Fitch. 

Oct., 1782, Obadiah Gore, Jonathan Fitch. 

MEMBERS FROM LUZERISTE COUNTY TO PENNSYLVANIA 
ASSEMBLY. 

COUNCIL. 

1787, 1788, 1789, to 9th October, Nathan Denison. 
30th October, 1789, to 20th December, 1790, Lord Butler. 

On the 20th December, 1790, the Council closed its 
session, sine die, and the state was organized under the 
Constitution of 1790, and a Senate took the place of a 
Council. 

SENATE. 

1790, William Montgomery, with Northumberland and 

Huntington. 
1792, William Hepburn. 
1794, George Wilson, with Northumberland, Mifflin, and 

Lycoming. 
1796, Samuel Dale, with Northumberland, Mifflin, and 

Lycoming. 
1798, Samuel McClay. 

1800, James Harris. 

1801, Jonas Hartzell, with Northampton and Wayne. 
1803, Thomas Mewhorter. 

1805, William Lattimore. 

1807, Matthias Gress. 

1808, Nathan Palmer, with Northumberland. 
1810, James Laird. 

1812, William Ross. 

1814, Thomas Murray, Jr., with Northumberland, Union, 
Columbia, and Susquehanna. 



524 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



1816 
1818 
1820 
1824 
1828 
1832 
1836 

1839 
1841 

1844 
1847 
1850 
1853 
1856 
1859 
1862 
1865 

1787 
1788 
1791 
1793 
1794 
1795 
1797 
1799 
1801 
1802 
1803 
1804 
1805 
1806 
1807 
-1808 



Charles Frazer. 

Simon Snyder. 

Redmond Conyngham. 

Robert Moore, with Columbia. 

and 1830, Jacob Drumheller. 

Uzal Hopkins. 

Ebenezer Kingsbury, Jr., with Monroe, Wayne, and 

Pike. 
S. F. Headley. 
Luther Kidder. 

William S. Ross, with Columbia. 
Valentine Best. 

Charles R. Buckalew, with Columbia and Montour. 
Charles R. Buckalew. 
George P. Steele. 

Winthrop W. Ketcham, Luzerne (alone). 
J. B. Stark. 
L. D. Shoemaker. 

HOUSE — THE YEAR OF ELECTION GIVEN. 

John Paul Schott. 
1789, and 1790, Obadiah Gore, 
and 1792, Simon Spalding. 
Ebenezer Bowman. 
Benjamin Carpenter, 
and 1796, John Franklin, 
and 1798, Rosewell Welles, 
and 1800, John Franklin. 
John Franklin and Lord Butler. 
John Franklin and Rosewell Welles. 
John Franklin and John Jenkins. 
Rosewell Welles, Jonas Ligham. 
Rosewell Welles, Nathan Beach. 
Rosewell Welles, Moses Coolbaugh. 
Charles Miner, Nathan Beach. 
Charles Miner, Benjamin Dorrance. 



POLITICS. 



525 



1809 
1811 

1813 

^1814 
1815 
1816 
1817 
1819 

,. 1820 
1821 
1822 

1823 

1824 

1825 

1826 

1827 
1828 
1829 
1830 
1831 
1832 
1833 
1834 
1835 
1836 
1838 
1839 



and 1810, Benjamin Dorrance and Thos. Graham. 

Thomas Graham, Jonathan Stevens. 

Benjamin Dorrance, Charles Miner. 

Jabez Hyde, Jr., and Joseph Pruner, with Susque- 
hanna. 

Benjamin Dorrance, Putnam Catlin. 

Redmond Conyngham, George Denison. 

George Denison, Jonah Brewster. 

and 1818, Jonah Brewster, James Reeder. 

Jonah Brewster, Benjamin Dorrance. 

Benjamin Dorrance, Cornelius Cortright. 

Andrew Beaumont, Cornelius Cortright. 

Jabez Hyde, Jr., Andrew Beaumont, Jacob Drum- 
heller, Jr. 

Jabez Hyde, Jr., Jacob Drumheller, Jr., and Cor- 
nelius Cortright. 

Philander Stevens, G. M. Hollenback, Jacob Drum- 
heller, Jr. 
Philander Stevens, G. M. Hollenback, Samuel 
Thomas. 

Philander Stevens, Samuel Thomas, Garrick Mal- 
lery. 

Garrick Mallery, George Denison, Almon H. Read. 

Garrick Mallery, George Denison, Isaac Post. 

Garrick Mallery, George Denison. 

George Denison, Benjamin Dorrance, 

Albert G. Brodhead, Nicholas Overfield. 

A. G. Brodhead, Chester Butler. 

A. G. Brodhead, Ziba Bennett. 
Ziba Bennett, B. A. Bidlack. 

B. A. Bidlack, James Nesbitt, Jr. 

and 1837, Henry Stark, William C. Reynolds. 
John Sturdevant, Chester Butler. 
Chester Butler, Joseph Griffin. 



526 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



1840, and 1841, Andrew Cortright, Hendrick B. Wright. 

1842, Hendrick B. Wright and Moses Overfield. 

1843, William Merrifield, Chester Butler. 

1844, and 1845, William Merrifield, James S. Campbell. 

1846, Nathan Jackson, George Fenstermacher. 

1847, Samuel Benedict, James W. Goff. 

1848, Henry M. Fuller, Thomas Gillispie. 

1849, Andrew Beaumont, John N. Conyngham. 

1850, and 1851, James W. Rhodes, Silas S. Benedict. 
1852, and 1853, Truman Atherton, Abram B. Dunning. 

1854, A. B. Dunning, Gideon W. Palmer. 

1855, Harrison Wright, Henderson Gaylord. 

1856, Steuben Jenkins, Thomas Smith, 

1857, Steuben Jenkins, Samuel G. Turner, P. C. Gritman. 

1858, P. C. Gritman, Lewis Pughe, Winthrop W. Ketcham. 

1859, John Stone, Peter Byrne, Dyer L. Chapin. 

1860, Peter Byrne, Lewis Pughe, H. B. Hillman. 

1861, Wm. S. Ross, R. F. Russell, H. V. Hall. 

1862, S. W. Trimmer, Jacob Robinson, Peter Walsh. 

1863, Peter Walsh, Jacob Robinson, Harry Hakes. 

1864, Harry Hakes, Anthony Grady, D. F. Seybert. 

1865, A. Grady, D. F. Seybert, D. S. Koon. 

From 1814 to 1828, inclusive, the representative district 
was composed of Luzerne, Bradford, and Susquehanna. 

GERSHOM PRINCE. 

Gershom Prince was a brave and reliable negro soldier 
of the American army. He perished in the battle of 
Wyoming, July 3d, 1778, at the post of duty, and he 
should not be entirely forgotten. He was born, probably, 
in Connecticut or Rhode Island, about the year 1733, 
and, possessing a daring and adventurous spirit, he chose 
the exciting life of a soldier. Captain Israel Putnam 
commanded a company of Massachusetts and Connecticut 
rangers, of which Robert Durkee was lieutenant in the 



GERSHOM PRINCE. 527 



year 1755. This company marched, under Sir William 
Johnson, in an expedition against the French and Indians. 
Prince, who was attached to Lieutenant Durkee, accom- 
panied him in this campaign, and participated in many 
of its thrilling and adventurous scenes. When war was 
declared by England against Spain, in 1762, he accom- 
panied the Connecticut regiment, commanded by Colonel 
Putnam, to Havana; and when the Revolutionary war 
broke out, he joined Colonel Christopher Green's colored 
regiment from Rhode Island. 

Prince was in the engagement at Red Banlc, on the 
22d of October, 1777. In this attack, made by 1200 
Hessians, under Count Dono|), the black regiment distin- 
guished itself by repelling the first onset of the British 
troops ; and, in conjunction with another regiment, 400 
men in all, compelled the enemy to retreat with the loss 
of Count Donop and 400 killed and wounded. Soon after 
this battle, it is probable Prince's term of enlistment ex- 
pired, for we find him again with Lieutenant, now Cap- 
tain Durkee, who was in New Jersey in command of the 
1st Independent Company from Wyoming. He, perhaps, 
acted in the capacity of servant or waiter to Captain 
Durkee. 

When tidings arrived in the camp of the near approach 
of the Tories and Indians to Wyoming, it will be remem- 
bered that Captains Durkee and Ransom, together with a 
number of privates, departed in haste, to assist in pro- 
tecting their homes. Gershom Prince accompanied them, 
and with them died in the battle. 

From his lifeless body was taken a powder-horn, which 
afterwards passed into the possession of Fisher Gay, Esq., 
but is now deposited in the cabinet of the Wyoming His- 
torical and Geological Society. On this horn is carved 
these words : " Prince negro his hornm." In another place, 



528 AJSTNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



" Garsliom Prince his Tiornm made at Crown Point Sept. 
ye Srd day 1761." A caution is carved in a third place, 
" Steal not this hornm." He has, besides, given a view 
of six buildings on his horn, one of which hangs out the 
swinging sign. He has endeavored, also, to represent a 
water craft, but, fearing it would not be recognized as 
such, has carved over it the word " vesel." 

MINERAL SPRINGS. 

None but invalids, who have drank the healing waters, 
can appreciate the virtues of mineral springs. These 
medicinal waters, prepared by Nature's own hand, are 
found in various countries and localities ; and while the 
springs of New York and Virginia are celebrated, and 
annually visited by thousands, those of Luzerne are com- 
paratively unknown. 

On the property of Calvin Parsons, Esq., about one 
and a half miles from Wilkesbarre, there is a chalybeate 
spring, the waters of which have benefited a number of 
individuals who have properly used them. 

At the base of Rosshill, where it is washed by the Sus- 
quehanna, there is an alum spring, which deposits a con- 
siderable quantity of pure alum on the rocks. Its waters, 
we believe, are more strongly impregnated with this 
mineral than those of the Rock Bridge, or Bath Alum 
Springs, in Virginia. 

"Passing through Leggett's Gap," says Dr. Hollister, 
"and near the saw-mill of Benjamin Leach, we find a point 
of some little interest from the existence there of a salt 
spring, once used by the aboriginal race. It is a small 
spring, strongly impregnated with saline properties." It 
was called by the Indians Mesomersic. The early white 
settlers procured salt from boiling the water, and fre- 
quently shot deer who visited the spring. One hunter 
informed Dr. H. that he had killed 147 deer at this spring 
alone. 



ITEMS. 529 



ITEMS. 



1769. Colonel Nathan Denison was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Sill. The knot was tied in a log-cabin, 
which stood on the corner of River and South streets, in 
Wilkesbarre, now occupied by the old Wells House. 
This was the first marriage in Wyoming. 

1773. Lazarus Denison, son of Colonel Nathan Deni- 
son, said to be the first white child, was born in Wyo- 
ming. 

1804. Died at Standing Stone, Wyoming county, 
Mrs. Hannah Sherer, aged 104 years. She emigrated to 
Luzerne in 1773. 

1805. The first animal show was held in Luzerne 
county. One elephant was exhibited in a log-stable, 
which stood on the ground now occupied by the new 
brick and iron store of G. M. HoUenback, Esq., in Market 
street, Wilkesbarre. The people assembled from all parts 
of the surrounding country, and one farmer carried a 
half bushel of wheat on his back, with which he paid the 
price of admission. 

1822. This year Sam Wright emigrated from New 
Jersey to Wilkesbarre. Sam was a negro 4 feet 6 inches 
in height, and measured 9 feet in circumference. He 
was a proficient in the art of cookery, and on his arrival 
opened an oyster saloon for the accommodation of the 
lovers of the bivalve. Oysters had been kept and sold 
for many years before in the cellar of the old court-house, 
at Arndt's Tavern, and at one or two other places, but 
there had never been an eating-house or saloon established 
in the place, and conducted by a competent artist like 
Sam. Here good bread was baked and sold, and ginger- 
cakes besides, together with mince pies, and tarts of a 

34 



530 ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. 



most delicious flavor and taste. Here mead, the best of 
mead, with its sparkling spray and foam, could be obtained 
Ladies and gentlemen of a former generation assembled 
here to partake of the delicacies which Sam's rare skill 
prepared. But Sam has been gathered to his fathers, and 
his suppers are like the memory of joys that are past. 
No stone marks the spot where Sam is laid, and in 
memory of the excellent baker and oysterman, we insert 
his old advertisement : — 

" Sam Wright, by day and by night, 
Will serve up fine oysters you know ; 
I have 'em on hand, and more at command. 
On the square and at Porter's below. 

If you call for a heart, or even a tart, 

I'll furnish them both if you please ; 
Mince pies I have too, or plum pudding in lieu, 

As well as dried beef and good cheese." 

1825. Dr. Atkins, of Kingston, took a stone from the 
bladder of a child 3 years old, measuring one inch in 
length and three-fourths of an inch in width. In 1847, 
Dr. McClelland, of Philadelphia, extracted a stone of the 
size of a small hen-egg from the bladder of a boy in Hunt- 
ington township, aged 12 years. 

An ox was killed in Kingston, from the stomach of 
which was taken a hard ball of hog's hair as large as a 
man's head. 

1842. The first balloon ascension took place at 
Wilkesbarre. Mr. Wise, the celebrated aeronaut, as- 
cended from the river bank seated on a board suspended 
below the globe of the balloon, and descended on the 
west side of the Susquehanna. He returned to Wilkes- 
barre after an absence of two hours. 

1854. Died, in Plymouth township, Mrs. Peggy Lark, 



ITEMS. 531 

aged 105 years. Her maiden name was Pace, and she 
had resided in Luzerne for upwards of 70 years. On her 
last birth-day, as she had been in the habit of doing for 
many years, she visited Captain Waller, who always was 
pleased to prepare for her a sumptuous birth-day dinner. 

1858. Alexander Jameson died in Salem township, 
aged 95 years. 

On the main road, between Beach Grove and Berwick, 
a distance of six miles, there resided the following named 
persons, who died at an advanced age : Alexander Jame- 
son, 95 ; Joseph Jameson, 92 ; Elizabeth Jameson, 88 ; 
Mary Jameson, 85 ; Nathan Beach, 84 ; Mr. Hughes, 90 ; 
two of the Messrs. Courtright, each about 80, and Mr. 
Varner, 91. Besides these, there were a number who 
lived to an age exceeding 75 years. 

Mrs. Lucy Carey, of Scott township, whose maiden 
name was McKay, was in Forty Fort at the time of the 
massacre, and, if now living, is 100 years of age. She 
was alive one year ago. 

1859. A common duck was killed in Wilkesbarre, 
from the gizzard of which was extracted an awl with a 
handle about three inches in length. 



532 



ANNALS OP LUZERNE COUNTY. 



HOMINT-BLOCK. 



In the absence of grist-mills, the early settlers in Wyo- 
ming used the hominy-block or corn-pounder, represented 
by the accompanying engraving. A block cut from the 




trunk of a large tree was placed in or upon the ground, 
with a hollow or bowl made in the top, in which the corn 
was placed, and pounded with a pestle hung upon a 
spring pole. Males and females alike were compelled to 
grind at these homely mills, and, says old Mr. Harris, 
"I have heard them pounding night and day in all 
directions in Wilkesbarre." 



TABLE OF DISTANCES. 



533 



TABLE OF DISTANCES. 



(Vhere from. 


Wliere to. 


By way of. 


Miles. 


Wilkesba^rre 


Philadelphia 


White Haven and Mauch Chunk 


133 


ti 


(( 


Tamaqua and Reading . . . 


189 


It 


<< 


Scranton and Easton .... 


183 


" 


<( 


Sunbury and Harrisburg . . . 


222 


<< 


New York 


Mauch Chunk and Easton . . 


166 


It 


" 


Scranton and Elizabeth Port 


162 


<( 


Baltimore . . 


Sunbury and Harrisburg . . . 


198 


(f 


Harrisburg . 


Sunbury 


116 


<( 


Elmira . . . 


Rupert 


170 


(( 


(( 


Great Bend 


141 


« 


" 


North Branch Canal .... 


123 




Mauch Chunk 
Bloomsburg . 




45 
40 
49 
61 




Danville 




Sunbury . 




(< 


Tamaqua . . 


Railroad 


91 


(t 


" 


Carriage Road 


38 


(1 


Pottsville . . 


Railroad 


107 


(< 


Williamsport . 
Easton . . . 


Rupert 


92 


<f 


Mauch Chunk 


91 


(< 


a 


Turnpike 


60 


<< 
<< 


Tunkhannock 

Montrose . . 


Cana 


33 
50 


Turnpike 


(( 
(< 
<< 
<( 
I( 
l( 
(( 
<< 
<( 


Towanda . . 
Pittston 


Cana 


85 
8 
18 
33 
25 
27 
25 
20 
27 




Scranton. . 




Carbondale 




New Columbus 
Berwick 






Hazelton . 




White Haven 

Nescopeck 






« 


Harvey's Lake 




12 


Carbondale 
Scranton . 


Honesdale . 




16 

50 


Great Bend 









APPENDIX. 



A. 

Names of fifty-eiglit of the 117 persons who settled at Wyoming in 
1763 ; viz. : — John Jenkins, John Comstock, Ephraim Seely, William 
Buck, Oliver Jevs^ell, Oliver Smith, David Honeywell, Ezra Dean, Jona- 
than Weeks, Jr., Obadiah Grore, Ezekiel Pierce, Philip Weeks, Daniel 
Gore, Elkanah Fuller, Wright Stevens, Isaac Underwood, Benjamin 
Ashley, Gideon Lawrence, Isaac Bennett, Stephen Lee, Silas Parker, 
James Atherton, Moses Kimball, Ebenezer Searles, Timothy Hol- 
lister, Nathaniel Terry, Ephraim Tyler, Timothy Hollister, Jr., 
Wright Smith, Ephraim Tyler, Jr., Isaac Hollister, Jr., Nathaniel 
Chapman, John Dorrance, Thomas Marsh, Rev. Wm. Marsh, Timothy 
Smith, Matthew Smith, Jonathan Sloeum, Benjamin Davis, Benjamin 
Follet, George Miner, Nathaniel Hollister, Benjamin Shoemaker, Na- 
thaniel Hurlbut, Simeon Draper, Samuel Richards, John Smith, Daniel 
Baldwin, Stephen Gardiner, Eliphalet Stephens, David Marvin, Augustus 
Hunt, Paschall Terry, William Stephens, Thomas Bennet. 

The following persons were killed, Oct. 15th, 1763 : — Rev. William 
Marsh, Thomas Marsh, Timothy Hollister, Timothy Hollister, Jr., Nathan 
Terry, Wright Smith, Daniel Baldwin and wife, Jesse Wiggins, Zeruah 
Whitney, Isaac Hollister. Mr. Shepherd and a son of Daniel Baldwin 
were taken prisoners. 

B. 

Names of two hundred enrolled settlers at Wyoming prior to 1773-— 
those marked thus [*] were of the forty who settled Kingston in 1769 ; 
viz. : — David Whittlesey, Job Green, Philip Goss, Joshua Whitney, 
Abraham Savage, Ebenezer Stearns, Sylvester Chesebrough, Zephaniah 
Thayer, Eliphalet Jewel, Daniel Gore, Ozias Yale, Henry Wall,* Row- 
land Barton, Gideon Lawrence, Asa Lawrence, Nathaniel Watson, Philip 
Weeks, Thomas Weeks, Asher Harrot, Ebenezer Hebbard, Morgan 

(535) 



536 APPENDIX. 



Carvan, Samuel Marvin, Silas Gore, Ebenezer Nortlirop, Joshua Lam- 
pher, Joseph Hillman, Abel Pierce, Jabez Roberts, Jonathan Carrington, 
John Dorrance, Noah Allen, Eobert Jackson, Zebulon Hawksey, James 
Dunkin, Caleb Tennant, Zerobabel Wightman, Gurdon Hopson, Asa Lee, 
Thomas Wallworth, Robert Hunter, John Baker, Jonathan Orms, Daniel 
Angel, Elias Roberts, Nicholas Manvil, Thomas Gray, Joseph Gaylord, 
William Churchell, Henry Strong, Zebulon Fisbee, Hezekiah Knap, John 
Kenyon, Preserved Taylor, Isaac Bennett, Uriah Marvin, Abisha Bing- 
ham, Moses Hebbard, Jr., Jabez Fisk, Peris Briggs, Aaron Walter, 
James May, Samuel Badger, Jabez Cooke, Samuel Dorrance, John Corn- 
stock,* Samuel Hotchkiss, William Leonard, Jesse Leonard, Elisha 
Avery, Ezra Buel, Gershom Hewit, Nathaniel Goss, Benjamin Hewit, 
Benjamin Hewit, Jr., Elias Thomas, Abijah Mock, Ephraim Fellows, 
Joseph Arnold, Ephraim Arnold, Benjamin Ashley, William White, 
Stephen Hull, Diah Hull, Joseph Lee, Samuel Wybrant, Reuben Hurlbut, 
Jenks Corah, Obadiah Gore, Jr., Caleb White, Samuel Sweet, Thomas 
Knight, John JoUee, Ebenezer Norton, Enos Yale, John Wiley, Timothy 
Vorce, Cyrus Kenney, John Shaw, James Forseythe, Peter Harris, Abel 
Smith, Elias Parks, Joshua Maxfield, John Murphy, Thomas Bennet,* 
Christopher Avery, Elisha Babcock, John Perkins, Joseph Slocum, 
Robert Hopkins, Benjamin Shoemaker, Jr., Jabez Sill, Parshall Terry, 
John Belong, Theophilus Westover,* John Sterling, Joseph Morse, 
Stephou Poller, Andrew Durkee, Andrew Medcalf, Daniel Brown, Jona- 
than Buck, David Mead, Thomas Ferlin, William Wallsworth, Thomas 
Draper, James Smith, James Atherton, Jr.,* Oliver Smith,* James 
Evans, Eleazar Carey, Cyprian Lothrop,* James Nesbitt, Joseph Web- 
ster, Samuel Millington, Benjamin Budd, John Lee, Josiah Dean, 
Zophur Teed, Moses Hebbard, Daniel Murdock, Noah Lee, Stephen 
Lee, Daniel Haynes, Lemuel Smith, Silas Park, Stephen Hungerford, 
Zerobabel Jeorum,* Comfort Goss, William Draper, Thamas McClure, 
Peter Ayers, Solomon Johnson, Phineas Stevens, Abraham Colt, Elijah 
Buck,* Noah Read, Nathan Beach, Job Green, Jr., Frederick Wise, 
Stephen Jenkins, Daniel Marvin, Zachariah Squier, Henry Wall, Simeon 
Draper,* John Wallsworth, Ebenezer Stone, Thomas Olcott, Stephen 
Hinsdale, Benjamin Dorchester, Elijah Witter, Oliver Post, Daniel Cass, 
Isaac Tracy, Samuel Story, John Mitchel, Samuel Orton, Christopher 
Gardner, Duty Gerold, Peris Bradford, Samuel Morgan, John Clark, 
Elijah Lewis, Timothy Hopkins, Edward Johnson, Jacob Dingman, 
Captain Prince Alden, Benedict Satterlee,* Naniad Coleman, Peter Corn- 
stock, John Franklin, Benjamin Matthews, John Durkee, William Gallop, 
Stephen Hurlbut, Stephen Miles, Ezra Dean.* 



APPENDIX. 537 



c. 

List of prisoners sent from Wyoming to the Easton jail, in 1784 ; viz. : 
— William Slocum, Joseph Carey, Gideon Church, Nathaniel Cook, Ben- 
jamin Jenkins, William Jenkins, Abraham Pyke, Lord Butler, John 
Hurlbut, Daniel Sullivan, William Jackson, Richard Halstead, Edward 
Inman, Thomas Heath, Nathaniel Walker, Thomas Heed, Walter Spen- 
cer, John Gore, Jonathan Burwell, Prince Alden, Jeremiah White, 
Thomas Stoddart, Elisha Gaharda, Justus Gaylord, John Platner, and 
Abraham Nesbit. 

D. 

Copy of a muster-roll of the 1st independent company, commanded 
by Captain Robert Durkee, and attached to one of the Connecticut regi- 
ments, commanded by Colonel John Durkee, and encamped at Morris- 
town, New Jersey. Sworn to and subscribed by Captain Durkee and 
Lieutenant Wells, before Samuel Tuttle, Esq., at Morristown, August 8, 
1777. The time of the enlistment of officers and men, except one pri- 
vate, Waterman Baldwin, as noted on the roll, was September 17, 1776. 
Captain, Robert Durkee ; 1st Lieutenant, James Wells ; 2d Lieutenant, 
Asahel Buck ; Ensign, Herman Swift ; 1st Sergeant, Thomas McClure ; 
2d Sergeant, Peregrene Gardner; 3d, Thomas Baldwin; 4th, John 
Hutchinson ; Corporals, Edward Setter, Azel Hyde, Jeremiah Coleman, 
Benjamin Clark. Privates, Walter Baldwin, James Bagley, Eleazar 
Butler, Moses Brown, Charles Bennett, William Buck, Jr., Asa Brown, 
James Brown, Jr., David Brown, Waterman Baldwin, enlisted January 
7, 1777 ; John Cary, Jesse Coleman, William Cornelius, Samuel Cole, 
William Davison, Douglass Davison, William Dunn, Daniel Denton, 
Samuel Ensign, Nathaniel Evans, John Foster, Frederick Follet, Na- 
thaniel Fry, James Frisby, Jr., Elisha Garret, James Gould, Titus Garret^ 
Mumford Gardner, Abraham Hamester, Israel Harding, Henry Harding, 

Thomas , Stephen Harding, Oliver Harding, Richard Halsted, 

Thomas Hill, John Halsted, Benjamin Harvey, Solomon Johnson, Asahel 
Jerome, John Kelly, Stephen Munson, Seth Marvin, Martin Nelson, 
Stephen Pettibone, Stephen Preston, Thomas Porter, Aaron Perkins, 
John Perkins, Ebenezer Philips, Ashbel Robinson, Ira Stevens, Elisha 
Sills, Ebenezer Shiner, Asa Smith, Robert Sharer, Isaac Smith, Luke 
Swetland, Shadrach Sills, Samuel Tubbs, William Terry, John Tubbs, 
Ephraim Tyler, Edward Walker, Obadiah Walker, James Wells, Jr., 
Nathaniel Williams, Thomas Wilson. 

Copy of a pay-roll of the 2d independent company, commanded by 



538 APPENDIX. 



Captain Samuel Ransom. The time of service, as noted on the roll, of 
a large majority of the officers and privates, was three years, from Janu- 
ary 1, 1777, to 1780. Captain, Samuel Ransom ; 1st Lieutenant, Simon 
Spaulding, appointed Captain June 24th, 1778; Sergeant, Timothy 
Pierce, appointed Ensign December 3, 1777, and Lieutenant January 
17, 1778. Lieutenant John Jenkins joined the company July 6, 1778 j 
1st Sergeant, Parker Wilson ; 2d, Josiah Pasco. Privates : — Caleb 
Atherton, Mason F. Alden, Samuel Billings, Jesse Bezale, Jehial Bil- 
lings, Isaac Benjamin, Oliver Bennet, Asahel Burnham, Rufus Bennet, 
Benjamin Clark, Gordon Church, Price Cooper, Josiah Corning, Benja- 
min Cole, Nathan Church, Daniel Franklin, Charles Graylord, Ambrose 
G-aylord, Justin Gaylord, Benjamin Hempstead, Timothy Hopkins, Wil- 
liam Kellog, Lawrence Kinney, Daniel Lawrence, Nicholas Manswell, 
Elisha Mathewson, Constant Mathewson, William McClure, Thomas 
Neal, Asahel Nash, John O. Neal, Peter Osterhout, Amos Ormsburg, 
Thomas Packett, Ebenezer Roberts, Samuel Saucer, Asa Sawyer, Stephen 
Skiff, John Swift, Constant Searle, William Smith, Jr., Elisha Satterly, 
Robert Spencer, John Vangordon, Thomas Williams, Caleb Warden, 
Richard Woodstock, Elijah Walker, Zeber Williams. 

Of the twenty-five or thirty officers and privates who left the company 
in New Jersey, with or without leave, and hastened to Wyoming to par- 
ticipate in the battle, July 3, 1778, the following persons were killed on 
that fatal day : — Captain Robert Durkee, Captain Samuel Ransom, Lieu- 
tenant Timothy Pierce, Lieutenant James Wells. Privates : — Samuel 
Cole, Daniel Denton, William Dunn, Daniel Lawrence, and Constant 
Searle. 

E. 

List of officers and privates killed at the battle and massacre at Wyo- 
ming, July 3, 1778 :— Lieutenant-Colonel, George Dorrance ; Major, 
John Garret; Captains: James Bidlack, Jr., Aholiab Buck, Robert 
Durkee, Reziu Geer, Joseph Whittlesey, Dethic Hewit, William McKa- 
raghan, Samuel Ransom, Lazarus Stewart, James Wigton ; Lieutenants : 
A. Atherton, Stoddart Bowen, Aaron Gaylord, Timothy Pierce, Perrin 
Ross, Elijah Shoemaker, Lazarus Stewart, Jr., Asa Stevens, Flavins 
Waterman, James Wells. Ensign^ : Jeremiah Bigford, Asa Gore, Silas 
Gore, Titus Hinman, John Otis, William White. Privates : Jabez 

Atherton, Christopher Avery, Aeke, A. Benedict, Jabez Beers, 

Samuel Bigford, Elias Bixby, David Bixby, John Boyd, John Brown, 
Thomas Brown, William Buck, James Budd, Amos Bullock, Henry 
Buck, John Caldwell, Isaac Campbell, Josiah Cameron, Joseph Carey, 



APPENDIX. 539 



Joel Church, James Coffria, William Coffrin, Samuel Cole, Eobert Corn- 
stock, [three] brothers Cook, Christopher Cartright, John Courtright, 
Anson Coray, Rufus Coray, Jenks Coray, Samuel Crocker, Joseph 
Crocker, Jabez Darling, D. Denton, Conrad Davenport, Anderson Dana, 

James Divine, George Downing, Levi Dunn, William Dunn, 

Ducher, Benjamin Finch, John Finch, Daniel Finch, Elisha Fitch, Cor- 
nelius Fitchett, Eliphalet Follett, Thomas Faxen, John Franklin, Tho- 
mas Fuller, Stephen Fuller, Gardner, George Gore, 

Green, Samuel Hutchinson, William Hammond, Silas Harvey, Benjamin 
Hatch, Cyprian Hebard, Levi Hicks, James Hopkins, Nathaniel How- 
ard, John Hutchins, Israel Inman, Elijah Inman, Joseph Jennings, 

Samuel Jackson, Robert Jameson, Henry Johnson, Lester, 

Joshua Landon, Daniel Lawrence, William Lawrence, Francis Ledyard, 
James Lock, Conrad Lowe, Jacob Lowe, Nicholas Manvill, Job Marshall, 
New Matthewson, C. McCartee, A. Muleman, Robert Mclntire, Andrew 
Millard, John Murphy, Joseph Ogden, John Pierce, Abel Palmer, Silas 
Parke, William Packer, Henry Pencil, Noah Pettibone, Jr., Jeremiah 

Ross, Reynolds, Elisha Richards, Elias Roberts, Enos Rock way, 

Timothy Ross, James Shaw, Constant Searle, Abel Seeley, Joseph Shaw, 
Abraham Shaw, Darius Spafford, Levi Spencer, Josiah Spencer, Eleazar 
Sprague, Aaron Stark, Daniel Stark, Joseph Staples, Rufus Stevens, 
James Stevenson, Naler Swead, Ichabod Tuttle, John Van Wee, Abra- 
ham Vangorder, Elisha Waters, Bartholomew Weeks, Jonathan Weeks, 
Philip Weeks, Peter Wheeler, Stephen Whiton, Esen Wilcox, John 
Williams, Elihu Williams, Jr., Rufus Williams, Azibah Williams, John 
Ward, John Wilson, Parker Wilson, Wade, William Wood- 
ringer, Ozias Yale; Gershom Prince (colored). 

F. 

Copy of a muster-roll of Luzerne county volunteers, commanded by 
Captain Samuel Bowman, during the Whiskey Insurrection of 1794, 
and attached to a battalion of light infantry, commanded by Major 
George Fisher : — Captain, Samuel Bowman ; Lieutenant, Ebenezer Par- 
rishj Ensign, Arnold Colt; Sergeant, Daniel Spencer; 2d Sergeant, 
John Freeman ; 3d Sergeant, John Alden ; Corporal, Archibald White ; 
2d Corporal, Oliver Parrish ; 3d Corporal, Robert Lewis ; 4th Corporal, 
Thompson HoUiday ; Fifer, Peter Yarrington ; Drummer, John Wright. 
Privates : Samuel Young, Solomon Daniels, John Cochran, Elihu Par- 
rish, James Sitey, Thomas P. Miller, Peter Grubb, Arthur McGill, James 
Johnston, Joseph Headsdale, Daniel Alden, Simon Stevens, Warham 



540 APPENDIX. 



Strong, David Landon, Gideon Underwood, Jeremiah Decker, James 
Robb, Sale Roberts, Partial Eoberts, Rufus Drake, Benjamin Owens, 
John JEarl, Charles Bowes, Curtis Grubb, Thomas Jeayne, Joseph G-rimes, 
Jesse Tompkins, William Harris, Jesse Coleman, John Talliday, Cofrin 
Boidwell. 

G. 

Muster-Roll of a company of infantry under the command of Captain 
Samuel Bowman, in the Eleventh Regiment of the United States, com- 
manded by Lieutenant-Colonel Aaron Ogden, from May 1 to June 14 
1800 ; viz. : — Captain, Samuel Bowman j Lieutenant, Samuel Erwin 
2d, John Mervy; 1st Sergeant, Thomas Fisk; 2d, John Hollenback 
3d, David Landon ; 4th, Asa Harris ; 1st Corporal, Ephraim White ; 2d 
Benjamin C. Owen; 8d, David Curtis; 4th, Reuben Crozier; Musicians 
John Tursdale and Samuel Horton. Privates : Arnosiah Blakseley, 
Anson Downing, Azos Nash, Benjamin Hazzard, Benoni Hulett, Benja- 
min Jenings, Charles Bowles, David Ayer, David Haines, David Hatha- 
way, David Jayne, Daniel Sage, Daniel Farman, Elias Thompson, George 
Gallentine, George Clark, George Deshler, George Trucks, Godfrey 
Perry, Henry Hunter, Hugh Sumerlin, Ichabod Tompkins, John Lovell, 
Isaac Ford, James Bailey, James Agerston, Jonathan Conklin, Jonah 
Davis, John Stark, Joseph Holdren, James Mclntire, James Staples, 
John Voorhees, John Charles, Jonathan Webber, John Ellis, Israel Gale, 
James Harris, James Lewis, John Shaw, James Walker, Isaac Wickiser, 
John Dalton, John Evans, Jacob Wheeler, James Lake, Jacob Cownover, 
Luther Weeks, Moses Thomas, Peter Peters, Philip Hunter, Peter 
Andre, Phineas Underwood, Peter Williams, Reuben Buck, Samuel 
Harris, Solomon Maning, Stephen Brown, Stephen Bayley, Samuel 
Evans, Samuel Wigton, Thomas Hains, Thomas Point, Thomas Hadgins, 
Thomas Quick, Thomas Walterman, Thomas Wright, William Parker, 
Williarn Largley, William Allen, William Decker, Wareham Kingsley, 
Walter Robison, William Tuttle, William Ritchey. 

H. 

A muster-roll of the commissioned and non-commissioned officers, mu- 
sicians, and privates, of the artillery company in Colonel Hill's regi- 
ment of Pennsylvania Militia, organized at Erie, May 5, 1813 ; viz.: 
— Captain, Samuel Thomas; 1st Lieutenant, Phineas Underwood; 2d, 
Ziba Hoyt; 3d, Andrew Sheets; Ensign, Edward Gilchrist; 1st Ser- 
geant, John Carkhuff; 2d, Jacob Taylor; 3d, Absalom Roberts; 4th, 
Henry Jones; 5th, George W. Smith; 6th, John Bowman; 1st Corpo- 



APPENDIX. 541 



ral, Christopher Miner; 2d, Daniel Cochevour; 8d, Samuel Parrish; 
4th, Ebenezer Freeman ; 5th, John Blane ; 1st Gunner, Stephen Evans ; 
2d, Isaac Hollister; 3d, John Prince; 4th, James Bird; 5th, Morris 
Crammer; 6th, Festus Freeman; 7th, James Devans; Drummer, Alex- 
ander Lord; Fifer, Araba Amsden. Privates: Daniel Hoover, John 
Daniels, James W. Barnum, William Pace, James Bodfish, Godfrey 
Bowman, Benjamin Hall, Solomon Parker, Ezekiel Hall, Sylvanus 
Moore, Hallet Gallup; and in passing through Fayette county they re- 
ceived twenty-seven recruits, and in Bedford county thirty-five, whose 
names are omitted. 

I. 

45th Regiment, 1st Company : — Captain, Joseph Camp ; Lieutenant, 
Joseph Lott; Ensign, .Robert Reynolds; 1st Sergeant, Henry Felton; 
2d Sergeant, John Gardner; 3d Sergeant, Daniel Cooley; 4th Sergeant, 
Henry Taylor; 1st Corporal, Samuel Simons; 2d Corporal, Ezekiel 
Mowry; 3d Corporal, William Stage; 4th Corporal, John Belden. 

Privates : Ezeniah Horton, William Stark, Jr., Josiah. Welch, Isaac E. 
Potter, Frederick Miller, John Williams, Marshall Dickson, John Rosen- 
crance, Ransom Whitney, Josiah Wood, Seth Kenney, Abraham Lott, 
Abram Miller, Daniel Young, Jr. , Joseph B. Wheeler, Elisha Beck, Ebene- 
zer Lacy, George Hall, George Harculy, Isaac Place, Ira Kenney, Michael 
Smyth, Moses Overfield, Paul White, George Quick, Christopher Rey- 
nolds, Seth Dean, George Gardner, David Wall, Crispen Reynolds, Aaron 
Philips, John G. Leveret, Syrus Blanchard, William Stanton, John 
Mullison, Samuel Nolan, Joseph Lutz, James Evans, Jesse Carney, 
Thomas S. Gast, Cornelius Woodcock, Thomas Carney, Daniel Wheelock, 
James Hultz, Jr., John Mullison, Samuel Whitmore, Forbs Lee, James 
Ostrander, William Frear, Adam Shafer, Anderson Schofield, Hubbard 
Headstead, Josiah Rogers, John Lee, Lewis James, Elisha Cogsdell, Asa 
Whitney, Hyram Blanchard, Abner Jackson, Jacob Hale, Robert Vaughn, 
John Shaw. Drummer, John David. Fifer, Stephen Reynolds. 

John D. Hummel and Thomas Taylor deserted; and of the above, 
Abraham Lott, Abram Miller, and Seth Dean are marked " Furlough," 
and James Ostrander and Anderson Schofield " Absent." Total, 76. 

Signed : A true return by me, Joseph Scott, Lieutenant, November 
15, A. D. 1814. 

Endorsed : ''■45th Regiment, Captain Camp. Return of those present 
at Danville, who, I expect, got discharges." 

Detachment of 129th Regiment, Pennsylvania Militia: — 1st Captain, 



542 APPENDIX. 



Frederick Bailey ; Captain, Amos Tiffany ; 1st Company, Lieutenant, 
Cyrrel Giddings; 4th Company, Ensign, Hiat Tupper; 1st Sergeant, 
Jesse Bagley; 1st Sergeant of 2d Company, Tingley Tiffany; 2d Ser- 
geant, Samuel Baldwin; 3d Sergeant, James Truesdell; 4th Sergeant, 
Joseph Marsh ; 2d Corporal, Josiah Davig ; 3d Corporal, Orange Whit- 
ney ; 4th Corporal, John L. Travers. 

Privates : — Elisha Safford, Jonathan Miles, Latham Williams, Grideon 
Beebe, Eleazar Kimble, Ebenezer Miles, Thomas Bagley, Hugh MeCol- 
lum, Noah Tiffany, Jr., Josiah Lord, Jr., David Carpenter, Eliphalet 
Ellsworth, Dotton Tiffany, Ezra Sturdevant, Wells Stanby, Daniel E- 
Thatcher, Amasa Harding, Thomas Oakley, Noah Reed, Joseph G-arsey, 
Isaiah Fuller, Oliver G-reytracks, Daniel Tingley, James Robinson, Ste- 
phen Harding, Thomas Taylor, John Coonrod, Calvin Bell, Lewis Tiffany, 
Nathan P. Thatcher, Michael Vanwinkle, Calvin Blaisdell, Zebulon 
Lathrop, Amos Canfield, Jonathan Elsworth, Erastus Jones, Jacob 
Bump, Wilson Canfield, William Glranger, Albert Camp, John Haywood, 
Jr., Joseph Beek, Levy L. Agadd, Ralf Sines, William Rockwell, John 
Greek, Jesse Ross, Gurdon Darrow, Sylvester Smith, Joseph Doolittle, 
Samuel Ward, Peter Davis, Azahel Adams, Nathaniel Ives, Henry Clark, 
Joseph Fish, Daniel B. Wyle, Hiland Vichovy, David Hall, Jonathan 
Treadwell, Jesse Hale, Enos Juet, Nathaniel Lock, Jonathan Fancher, 
Alexander McKey, James Ferguson, David Bemiss, Thomas M. Safford, 
James Steenburgh, Roswell Babcock, Jonathan Wood, Robert McCarty, 
Esek Wood, John Newman, Richard Bill, George Avery, Joshua Smith, 
Jarius Deans, Jason Fargo, William Harkins, Dyer Lathrop, John Bul- 
lock, Wm. B. Wealch, Josiah Woodworth, Phineas Ames, Jr., Bradley 
Thomas, Hiram Whipple, Isaac Chapman, Henry Jackson, Corbet Pick- 
ering, Levy Chamberlain, David Holmes, Laton Smith, Jeremiah Bard, 
Jonathan Woodrough, Abijah Hubbel, Moses Chamberlain, Warren 
Gurnsey, Oliver Knose, Joseph Mattison. — 112. Certified by 

Ben J. Lathrop, Adjt. 129th Reg't P. M. 

Detachment of 112th Regiment, Pennsylvania Militia : — 
Captain, George Hidley; Lieutenant of 2d Company, John Wortman; 
Ensign of 4th Company, Abraham Roberts; 1st Sergeant, Usual Hop- 
kins ; 2d Sergeant, Daniel Lennsh ; 3d Sergeant, Philip Sheets ; 4th 
Sergeant, Ephraim Cutler; 5th Sergeant, Lawrence Ruch; 1st Corporal, 
Edward Borsel; 2d Corporal, John P. Salmon; 3d Corporal, Samuel 
Webb ; 4th Corporal, Daniel Lewis ; 5th Corporal, John Abberton ; 6th 
Corporal, Joseph Gilbert. 

Privates : Drummer, George Heckman ; Fifer, George Barnard ; 



APPENDIX. 543 



Jacob Ludwig, David Slone, Peter Slamon, John Robins, James Park, 
James Kennada, Simon Hazenback, Jobn Turner, Peter Friese, John 
Weesle, Godfrey Ludwig, John R. White, G-ershom Plotts, James Kin- 
ney, John Mummy, James Mase, Adam Kuder, Daniel Koher, Charles 
Hess, George Hepler, Isaac Kinney, William Willet, Jonathan Lemon, 
Joseph Richard, James Minikel, William Watts, Jacob Lutes, John 
Woolever, Joseph Cammel, Robert Firman, John Davis, William Lem- 
mon, Philip Yeager, William Cavenry, Daniel McComing, Isaac Shoe- 
maker, 'Michael Thomas, Zachariah Fospy, Andrew Deldine, Jacob 
Force, Henry Yeable, John Frits, John Hatmond, Curtis Staten, Peter 
Best, Miers Cline, Peter Vanater, Jacob Abbott, George Stoot, George 
Morich, Joseph Salcey, Jonas Abbot, Abraham Ewen, George Sittey, 
John Abbot, Adam Leopard, Jacob Keiser, Philip Fox, William Firman, 
Henry Keiser, William Fox, Elijah Crawford, Jacob Johnson, Jr., Cas- 
per Hawk, Edmon Fox, Isaac Kittle, Frederick Shafer, Jacob Bower, 
Jonathan Buckalew, William Kile, William Marton, Moses Savage, Ben- 
jamin Coleman, Charles Frits, James Keeler, Samuel Musselman, John 
Kennor. — 74. Certified by 

George Hidley, Captain. 

Detachment under Captain Jacob Bittenbender : — 

Lieutenant, ; Ensign, John Myers; 1st Sergeant, 

Jonas Buss ; 2d Sergeant, Jacob Boston ; 3d do. Henry Long ; 4th do. 
Peter Sutz ; 1st Corporal, William Smithers ; 2d Corporal, David Deal ; 
3d, Henry Harvey; 4th, Stephen Arnold. 

Privates: George Deal, Henry Snyder, Daniel Snyder, George Rit- 
tenback, William Ruth, George Shevey, Abraham Woolever, John Bid- 
lack, Charles Scott, Frederick Levenburg, John Romish, Hugh Cameron, 
Henry Shrain, Jacob Brader, Benjamin Stucky, Philip Stonebach, War- 
ren Haas, Henry Hanny, Andrew Hanney, William Bitterley, John 
Walk, Jacob Wenner, Henry Uplinger, Thomas Little, Joseph Hender- 
son, Richard Davidson, Levy Seward, Richard Chrigery, Jacob Benscoter, 
George Donty, Miles Sperry, Abner Johnson, John Zimmerman. — 44. 

Detachment of 35th Regiment P. M. Captain Hallock. 

Captain, Peter Hallock; 1st Lieutenant, Hosea Phillips; 2d, Jere- 
miah Fuller ; 1st Ensign, William Polen ; 2d, George Denison ; 1st Ser- 
geant, Stephen Decker; 2d Sergeant, John Cortright; 3d Sergeant, 
Joseph Wright; 4th Sergeant, John Kelly; 1st Corporal, Ezra Ide ; 
2d, Ebenezer Marcy; 4th Corporal, Isaac Carver; 5th Corporal, David 
Pease. Drummer, Samuel Lefrance. 



544 APPENDIX. 



Privates : Thomas Benedict, Jared Marcy, Samuel Mott, William 
Osborn, Benjamin Ryon, William Ross, George D. Nash, Benjamin 
Knapp, George W. Benedict, William Honnewell, Thomas Muford, Ros- 
well Wheeler, Thomas Lynn, Isaac Neffes, John HufF, Jacob Good, John 
Thompson, Samuel Carey, Jr., Uriah Rogers, Obadiah Smith, Joseph 
Tompkins, John Hess, William Winters, John Miller, Peter Connor, 
Abner Wade, Jr., Anthony Pass, John Hunter, John Masco, Adam 
Steel, John Jameson, Jeremiah Vandermark, Moses Carter, Anson Cars- 
caden, Ithemar Rogers, Aaron Vanloon, Jacob Sorber, Jr., Jacob Sorber, 
2d; John Smith, 2d; Redmond Ovins, John Ensley, Henry Barakman, 
Jonah Romig, William Blane, Samuel Weiss, James Reeder, 2d ; Michael 
Hart, Daniel Simms, Jr., Peter Bellas, John Lutz, Henry Young, Jr., 
Michael Stamets, John H. Smith, Philip Groupe, Luke Blane, William 
Caldwell, John Vaughn, Sr., John F. Cisco, Richard Edwards, John 
Farris, William Love, George Culver, Archippas P. Childs, George Cos- 
nor, Samuel Harvy, Asa Gore, Thomas Young, Morgan Hughes. 

Wyoming Blues : — 2d Sergeant, Andrew Vogle; Drummer, John Davis; 
Jesse Downing, Abraham Hart, John Garrison, Eli Downing, Luman 
Gilbert. 

Certified : Joze Rogers, Adjutant. 



J. 

Roll of officers and men of Company " I," First Regiment Pennsylvania 
Volunteers, who served in the war with Mexico : — 

Captain Edmund L. Dana, returned with the company. 

1st Lieutenant, E. B. Ceilings, discharged at Vera Cruz. 

" " F. L. Bowman, elected major. 

2d " A. H. Goff, killed at Perote. 

" " Jacob Waelder, returned with the company. 

Arnold C. Lewis, appointed 2d lieutenant, returned with 

the company. 
Joseph W. Potter, discharged at Perote. 
Dominick Devanny, returned with the company. 
Joseph W. Miner, elected 1st lieutenant. 

Wm. H. Beaumont, appointed 1st sergeant, returned with 

the company. 
D. "W. C. Kitchin, wounded at Cerro Gordo, and discharged. 
Charles W. Stout, appointed lieutenant, 11th infantry. 



1st Sergeant, 


2d 


3d 


4th " 


1st Corporal, 


2d 


3d 



APPENDIX. 54:5 



4th Corporal, John B, Vaughn, discharged at Jalapa. 

Drummer, Wilson B. Connor, discharged. 
Fifer, Wallace J. Belding, discharged. 



1. Grandison Abel, returned with the company. 

2. Joseph Alward, returned with the company. 

3. John Barnes, left sick at Cincinnati. 

4. Alfred Bentley, died at Jalapa. 

5. Luke Burke, returned with the company. 

6. Obed C. Burden, returned with the company. 

7. William Bachman, 

8. Lloyd M. Colder, died at Perote. 

9. George Collings, appointed corporal, returned with the company. 

10. Jacob L. Cooper, returned with the company. 

11. Wm. H, Carkhuff, died at Perote. 

12. James F. Dill, died at Perote. 

13. Thomas G. Dripps, appointed sergeant, returned with the company. 

14. M. M. Deberger, discharged at Vera Cruz. 

15. John C. Drinkhouse, discharged at Vera Cruz. 

16. James Ellis, discharged at Vera Cruz, June, 1848. 

17. Levi Emery, returned with the company. 

18. George W. Fell, returned with the company. 

19. Luke Floyd, wounded, and returned with the company. 

20. Samuel Fox, discharged at Jalapa. 

21. Frederick Funk, returned with the company. 

22. Joseph C. Garey, discharged at Vera Cruz. 

23. Patrick Gilroy, discharged at Vera Cruz. 

24. Aaron Gangawere, returned with the company. 

25. Magnes Gonerman, died at Perote. 

26. John Goodermooth, died at Puebla. 

27. Henry Hernbroad, 

28. Peter Hine, discharged at Vera Cruz. 

29. Nathaniel G. Harvey, died at Perote. 

30. Alexander Huntington, returned with the company. 

31. John Hunt, discharged at Jalapa. 

32. John Howard, returned with the company. 

33. David H. Howard, returned with the company. 

34. Anthony Haberholt, returned with the company. 

35. Charles Johnson, returned with the company. 

36. Patrick King, returned with the company. 

37. Lyman C. Kidder, discharged at Jalapa. 

38. Frederick Lehman, discharged at Vera Cruz. 

39. Joseph Leopard, returned with the company. 

40. Samuel A. Lewis, returned with the company. 

35 



546 APPENDIX. 



41. Charles W. Lutes, discharged at Vera Cruz. 

42. John W. Myers, died at Perote. 

43. John Morehouse, returned with the company. 

44. David R. Morrison, killed at the battle of Cerro Gordo. 

45. "Walker B. Miller, discharged at Vera Cruz. 

46. Samuel Marks, returned with the company. 

47. John B. Price, died at Jalapa. 

48. John Preece, killed at siege of Puebla. 

49. Jules Phillips, returned with the company. 

50. Isaac Rothermell, died at Vera Cruz. 

51. James W. Rigg, returned with the company. 

52. John Shadell, returned with the company. 

53. Levi H. Stevens, returned with the company. , 

54. James Stevens, discharged at Vera Cruz, wounded. 

55. John Swan, returned with the company. 

56. Hiram Spencer, discharged at Perote. 

57. John Sliker, died at Perote. 

58. James Sliker, returned with the company. 

59. Thompson Price, discharged. 

60. Wilson E. Sisty, discharged at Perote. 

61. Charles Tripp, died at siege of Puebla. 

62. George Tanner, died at Perote. 

63. William C. Toby, discharged at Jalapa. 

64. John Smith, died at Perote. 

65. Norman Vanwinkle, discharged at Perote. 

66. Holdin P. Vaughn, discharged at Jalapa. 

67. Gershon B. Vangordon, died at Perote, May 23, 1847. 

68. Edmund W. Wandell, returned with the company. 

69. Walsingham G. Ward, discharged at Vera Cruz, April 3, 1847. 

70. Thomas G. Wilson, died at Jalapa, May 20, 1847. 

71. William Vanderberg, returned with the company. 

72. William H. Whitaker, returned with the company. 

73. Thomas J. Wright, returned with the company. 

74. Armon Westhoren, returned with the company. 

75. Daniel W. Witzell, returned with the company. 

76. William T. Wilson, returned with the company. 

77. Daniel W. Yarlott, returned with the company. 

78. William Diamond, discharged at New Orleans, January 16, 1847. 

79. Elias Klinger, died at sea, January 31, 1847. 

80. Patrick O'Donnell, died at New Orleans, January 2, 1847. 

81. Samuel Knorr, lost ; supposed killed at National Bridge, January, 

1847. 



82. Augustus Ehles, returned with the company. 

83. Landlin Fist, returned with the company. 



APPENDIX. 547 



84. John Gaul, returned with the company. 

85. Charles Gordon, returned with the company. 

86. Ernest Gordon, returned with the company. 

87. William Hillsman, returned with the company. 

88. Frederick Musler, returned with the company. 

89. John McKeoun, returned with the company. 

90. Anthony Vernet, returned with the company. 

91. Michael Wolfstein, returned with the company. 

92. Henry Wehle, returned with the company. 

93. Adam Robinholt, died on Ohio River, July 13, 1848. 

94. George O'Craft, lost, July 3, 1848 ; supposed drowned. 
Total, 109 ; of whom 51 returned with the company. 



K. 

List of taxables in Exeter township in 1796 : — 

Joel Atherton, Joseph Black, Moses Bennet, Timothy Beebe, Koswell 
Beach, Peleg Comstock, Joseph Dailey, David Bailey, Jacob Drake, 
William Foster, Isaac Finch, Richard Gardner, John Gardner, Thomas 
Gardner, Abraham Goodwin, Richard Halstead, William Harding, Samuel 
Hadley, James Hadley, Stephen Harding, David Harding, Edward Had- 
sel, Joseph Hadsel, John Hadsel, William Hadsel, Stephen Harding, 
Micajah Harding, Thomas Harding, Peter Harris, Artimedoras Ingersol, 
Benjamin Jones, Sr., Nathaniel Jones, Sr., Majah Jones, Benjamin 
Jones, Jr., Justus Jones, Thomas Joslin, Sr., Palmer Jenkins, John 
Jenkins, Thomas Jenkins, Thomas Joslin, Jr., John Knapp, Comfort 
Kinyan, Andrew Montany, John McMullen, Benjamin McAfee, Benja- 
min Newbury, William Ogden, Jacob Wright, William Slocum, William 
Stage, James Sutton, Moses Scovel, Elisha Scovel, James Scovel, David 
Shaunts, David Smith, David Smith, Jr., David Skeel, William Tripp, 
Gilbert Townsend, Lazarus Townsend, Abner Tuttle, William Thompson, 
Thomas Williams, Ebenezer Williams, Allen Whitman, Zeb. Whitman, 
Nathan Whitlock, Joseph Whitlock, John Scott. 



List of taxables in Hanover township in 1796 : — 

John Alden, Abraham Adams, David Adams, Edward Adgerton, Na- 
than Abbot, Jonas Buss, Elisha Blaekman, Jr., Stephen Burret, Gideon 
Burret, Joel Burret, Thomas Brink, Rufus Bennet, Ishmael Bennet, 
Frederick Crisman, Nathan Cafy, James Campbell, Benjamin Gary, 
Anthony Cobert, Comfort Cary, William Caldwell, Elisha Delano, Rictard 



548 APPENDIX. 



Dilly, Kichard Dilly, Jr., George Espy, Samuel Ensign, Jacob Flanders, 
Jacob Fisber, Cornelius Garrettson, Andrew Gray, John Hames, Benja 
min Hopkins, John Hendershot, Henry Huber, Jacob Holdmer, William 
Hyde, Ebenezer Hibbard; Calvin Hibbard, John Hurlbert, Naphtali Hurl- 
bert, Christopher Hurlbert, Willis Hyde, John Jacobs, John Jacobs, Jr., 
Edward Inman, Richard Inman, John Inman, Elijah Inman, Jr., Jonathan 
Kellog, Conrad Lyons, Conrad Lyons, Jr., James Lesley, John Lutzey, John 
Lockerly, Adian Lyons, Michael Marr, Thomas Martin, Samuel Moore, 
J. S. Miller, Darius Preston, Josiah Pell, Benjamin Pott, Josiah Pell, 
Jr., John Philips, Jeremiah Roberts, John Ryan, John Robinson, David 
Robinson, James A. Rathborne, George Rouch, George Stewart, Edward 
Spencer, David Stewart, James Stewart, Dorcas Stewart, Josiah Stewart, 
William Stewart, Daniel Sinoms, Peter Steel, David Steel, Abraham Sar- 
ver. Christian Saum, Archd. Smiley, John Spencer, John Treadaway, 
Nathaniel Warden, Abner Wade, Arthur Van Wie, Ira Winter, Ashbel 
Wallis, William Young. 

M. 

List of taxables in Huntington township in 1796 : — 
Elijah Austin, Ralph Austin, James Benscoter, Elam Bonam, Henry 
Baker, Anthony Benscoter, Andrew Blancher, Isaac Benscoter, Daniel 
Culver, Aaron Culver, Reuben Culver, Reuben Blish, Darius Callender, 
John Chappin, James Earles, John Evans, John Fayd, Silas Ferry, 
Obil Fellows, Abial Fellows, Samuel Franklin, Daniel Fuller, Benjamin 
Fuller, George Fink, Amos Franklin, Nathaniel Goss, Elijah Goodwin, 
Doctor Gaylord, Philip Goss, Timothy Hopkins, Jesse Hopkins, Stephen 
Harrison, William Harrison, Caleb Hoyt, Samuel Hover, Emanuel 
Hover, Nathan Jennings, Joseph Kingsbury, Stephen Kingsbury, 
Samuel King, Moses Lawrence, Amy Lawrence, Elias Long, John 
Long, Rufus Lawrence, Jr., Rufus Lawrence, Sr., Joseph Moss, Nathan 
Monroe, John Miller, Solon Prescott, Gideon Post, Joseph Potter, 
John Potter, Jerry Preston and Loyd Marshall, Elijah Wood, Sr., Elijah 
Wood, Jr., Abel Sutley, Miles Sutley, Thomas Stephens, Jonathan Ste- 
vens, Amos Seward, Barney Sutley, Eli Seward, Enos Seward, Jr., Enos 
Seward, Sr., Gad Seward, Obadiah Scott, Jesse Scott, Obadiah Scott, Jr., 
Abraham Smith, Thomas Tubbs, Thomas Taylor, Nathan Tubbs, Earl 
Tubbs, Nathan Tubbs, Jr., Job Tripp, Jabez Williams, Uriah Williams, 
Thomas Williams, Tarball Whitney, Daniel Warner, John Wandall, Da- 
vid Woodward. 



APPENDIX. 549 



N. 

List of taxables in Kingston township in 1796 : — 

James Atherton, Elisha Atherton, John Allen, Joseph Brown, Oliver 
Biglow, Alex. Brown, William Brown, Daniel Burney, Andrew Bennet, 
Josephus Barber, Caleb Brundage, Samuel Breese, Laban Blanchard, 
Almon Church, Gilbert Carpenter, Jonathan Carver, Samuel Carver, 
James Carpenter, Tunis Decker, Jesse Dickerson, Benjamin Dorranee, 
John Dorranee, Nathan Denison, Christian Comigh, Joshua Fuller, Be- 
najah Fuller, Hallet Glallop, William Glallop, Peter Grubb, John Gore, 
James Gardiner, Lewis Hartsoff, John Horton, Peter Hartsoff, Daniel 
Hoyt, William Hurlbert, Elijah Harris, Joseph Hillman, John Hinds, 
Stephen Hollister, Philip Jackson, John Joseph, John Kelly, Samuel 
Landon, Nathaniel Landon, David Landon, James Landon, James Love, 
William Little, Isaiah Lucas, Lawrence Myers, Philip Myers, Nathan 
Mulford, Lewis Mullison, John Montoney, Isaac Montoney, Joseph Mon- 
toney, Andrew Miller, Elisha Matterson, Anning Owen, Abel Pierce, 
John Pierce, Joseph Pierce, Elias Pierce, Oliver Pettibone, David Per- 
kins, Aaron Perkins, John Bosenkrons, Aaron Roberts, Benjamin Ro- 
berts, Nathan Roberts, James Rice, Sherman Smith, Daniel Spencer, 
Martin Smith, Luke Swetland, Joseph Swetland, James Scofield, Comfort 
Shaw, Alexander Swartwout, Elijah Shoemaker, Abraham Shoemaker, 
Adam Shafer, Peter Shafer, Frederick Shafer, Peter Shale, Henry 
Tuttle, John Tuttle, Joseph Tuttle, William Trucks, Isaac Tripp, Israel 
Underwood, Gideon Underwood, Abraham Vangordon, Lemuel Wakely, 
John Wart, Ash el Fish, Benjamin Smith. 

0. 

List of taxables in Nescopeck township in 1796 : — 

Walter Kaar, Henry Hepler, William Sims, Jacob Hepler, Abraham 
Arnold, Henry Mattis, Joseph Bush, Martin Herner, Henry Nulf, Law- 
rence Kurrens, Cornelius Bellas, Jacob Severlin, Michael Horriger, 
Christian Smeeders, Casper Nulf, John Nulf, Adam Nulf, John Freese, 
Benjamin Vanhorn, George Tilp, Robert Patton, John Kennedy, James 
McVail, Adam Lurner, John Decker, Isaac Taylor, Daniel Lee, Zebulon 
Lee, John Pottman, William Rittenhouse, Joseph Kaar, 



List of taxables in Newport township in 1799 : — 

Prince Alden, John Alden, Daniel Alden, Elisha Bennet, Jacob Bui- 



550 APPENDIX. 



lock, Frederick Barrackman, Henry Bennet, Isaac Bennet, Oliver Ben- 
net, John Bowman, Benjamin Bidlack, Jacob Orator, Thomas Collins, 
Elias Decker, Sidney Drake, George Ensley, John Fairchild, Abraham 
Fairchild, Amos Huff, Mary Hager, Jonathan Hornet, William Jackson, 
Silas Jackson, Peter Kreamer, John Lutsey, Conrad Lyons, Jacob Lu.t- 
sey, James Millage, Jacob Mullen, James Mullen, James Mullen, Jr., 
Daniel McMuUen, George McGuire, John Nobels, Jacob Boeder, Joseph 
Reeder, Benjamin Reeder, Valentine Smith, Abraham Smith, Abraham 
Smith, Jr., Silas Smith, Peter Shafer, Newton Smith, Daniel Sims, Jona- 
than Smith, Christian Server, John Sims, Cornelius Sims, Benjamin 
Vandemark, Benjamin Vandemark, Jr., James Vandemark, Garret Van- 
demark, Nathan Whippel. 

Q. 

List of taxables in Pittston township in 1796 : — 

James Armstrong, Enos Brown, David Brown, Elisha Bell, Waterman 
Baldwin, Jeremiah Blanchard, John Benedict, Ishmael Bennet, Arch. 
Bowen, James Brown, Jr., Anthony Benscoter, J. Blanchard, Jr., R. 
Billings, Conrad Berger, Samuel Cary, George Cooper, John Clark, Je- 
dediah Collins, James Christy, John Davidson, David Dimock, Asa 
Dimock, Robert Faulkner, Solomon Finn, Nathaniel Giddings, Isaac 
Gould, Ezekiel Gobal, Joshua Griffin, Daniel Gould, Jesse Gardner, 
Richard Halstead, Isaac Hewit, Daniel Hewit, John Honival, Joseph 
Hazard, Abraham Hess, Jonathan Hutchins, John Herman, Lewis Jones, 
Joseph Knapp, William Knapp, Samuel Miller, Jr., William Miller, 
Ebenezer Marcy, Jonathan Marcy, Samuel Miller, Isaac Miles, Cornelius 
Nephew, John Philips, James Scott, John Scott, Wm. H. Smith, Roger 
Searls, Elijah Silsby, Elijah Silsby, Jr., James Stephens, William Searls, 
Miner Searls, Comfort Shaw, Jonathan Stark, James Thompson, Isaac 
Wilson, John Warden, Thomas Wright, Crandal Wilcox. 

R. 

List of taxables in Plymouth township in 1796 : — 

Samuel Allen, Stephen Allen, David Allen, Elias Allen, William 
Ayers, Daniel Ayers, John Anderson, Moses Atherton, Isaac Bennet, 
Benjamin Bennet, Joshua Bennet, Benjamin Barney, Daniel Barney, 
Henry Barney, Walter Brown, Jesse Brown, William Baker, Philemon 
Bidlack, Jared Baldwin, Jude Baldwin, Amos Baldwin, Peter Chambers, 
William Craig, Jeremiah Coleman, Thomas Davenport, Ashael Drake, 
Rufus Drake, Aaron Dean, Henry Decke, Joseph Dodson, Leonard 



APPENDIX. 551 



Dercuns, Joseph Duncan, Jeliiel Fuller, Peter Grubb, Charles E. Gay- 
lord, Adolph Heath, Elisha Harvey, Samuel Heley, John Heath, Josiah 
Ives, Josiah Ives, Jr., Crocker Jones, Thomas Lomereaux, John Lome- 
reaux, John Leonard, Joseph Lenaberger, Samuel Marvin, James 
Marvin, Timothy Meeker, Ira Manvill, Ephraim McCoy, Phiueas Nash, 
Abraham Nesbit, James Nesbit, Simon Parks, Samuel Pringle, 
Michael Pace, David Pace, Nathan Parrish, Oliver Plumley, Jonah 
Bigsley, Jonah Rogers, Joseph Rogers, Elisha Rogers, Edon Ruggles, 
Hezekiah Roberts, Jacob Roberts, Stephen Roberts, David Reynolds, 
Joseph Reynolds, George P. Ransom, Nathan Rumsey, Michael Scott, 
Lewis Sweet, Samuel Hart, Elam Spencer, William Stewart, Jesse Smith, 
Ichabod Shaw, Benjamin Stookey, Palmer Shaw, John Taylor, John 
Turner, Abraham Tibury, Matthias Vanloon, Abraham Vanloon, Nicholas 
Vanlooo, Calvin Wadhams, Noah Wadhams, Moses Wadhams, Ingersol 
Wadhams, Amariah Watson, Darius Williams, John Walley, Rufus Wil- 
liams. 

S. 

List of taxables in Providence township in 1796: — 

Cornelius Atherton, John Atherton, Eleazar Atherton, Benjamin At- 
water, William Ailsworth, Philip Abbot, James Abbot, Solomon Bates, 
James Brown, James Bagley, Asher Bagley, Jesse Bagley, William Cogswell, 
Asa Cobb, John Cary, Charles Dolph, Moses Dolph, Aaron Dolph, Jonathan 
Dolph, John Evans, Stephen Gardner, John Gifford, Stephen Hoyt, John 
Howe, John Howe, Jr., Rainsford Hoyt, William Hardy, Enoch Holmes, 
Nathan Hall, John Halstead, Jonas Halstead, James Lyons, Conrad Lutts, 
Jacob Lutts, Nicholas Lutchens, John Lamkins, Christopher Miller, 
John Mills, Ebenezer Park, Thomas Picket, Benjamin Pedrick, Jona- 
than Ralph, Thomas Smith, Timothy Stephens, William Simrol, Daniel 
Scott, Constant Searls, John Taylor, Daniel Taylor, Preserved Taylor, 
Abraham Taylor, Isaac Tripp, Isaac Tripp, Jr. 

T. 

List of taxables in Salem township in 1796 : — 

Nathan Beach, William Bryan, John Courtright, Elisha Courtright, 
Abraham Courtright, Joseph Curry, Christopher Klinetob, Robert Dunn, 
Elisha Decker, Thomas Dodson, James Dods)n, John Dodson, William 
Gray, Andrew Gregg, Samuel Hicks, Christopher Hans, Joseph Hans, 
Martin Hart, Moses Johnson, Alexander Jameson, Joseph Jameson, 
Jonathan Lee, William Love, James Lockhart, Jonathan Lewis, David 
McLain, Andrew Mowery, Amos Park, John Rhoads, George Smuthers, 
Henry Smuthers, James Santee, Valentine Santee, Jacob Smuthers, 



552 APPENDIX. 



Reuben Skinner, Oliver Smith, Reuben Smith, Sebastian Seybert, Jacob 
Smuthers, Jr., Richard Smith, Jacob Shones, Levi Thomas, Richard 
Thompson, John Varner, Anthony Weaver. 

U. 

List of taxables in Wilkesbarre township in 1799 : — 
Charles Abbot, Stephen Abbot, Edward Austin, Christopher Avery, 
Thomas A. Alkin, William Askam, John Alexander, Asa Rennet, Charles 
Rennet, Wilbur Rennet, Eleazar Rlackman, Cain Rillings, Timothy 
Reebe, Clark Reebe, Isaac Rowman, Stephen Rarnes, John -Carey, Hugh 
Conner, Arnold Colt, Mathew Covell, Putnam Catlin, Cornelius Court- 
right, Henry Courtright, John Courtright, James Conlin, Peter Corbit, 
Nathan Draper, Isaac Decker, Daniel Downing, Daniel Downing, Jr., 
Reuben Downing, Joseph Davis, Aziel Dana, Anderson Dana, Sylvester 
Dana, Thomas Duane, James Dixon, William Dixon, Arthur Eiek, Jacob 
Ely, Jabez Fish, Jesse Fell, Daniel Foster, Daniel Gore, Timothy G-reeUj 
Willard Grreen, Wm. Augustus G-eorge, Daniel Gridley, Matthias Hol- 
lenback, Jonathan Hancock, Godfrey Hitchcock, Oliver Helme, Jacob 
Hart, Lewis Hartsouff, Solomon Johnson, Jacob Johnson, Jehoiada 
P. Johnson, Christiana Johnson, John Johnson, Jacob Jenong, Luther 
Jones, Reuben Jones, John Kennedy, Jr., James Kennedy, Daniel 
Kelly, Joseph Kelly, James Morgan, Richard Maybury, Thomas Mar- 
shal, Enoch Ogden, Jacob Ossencup, Samuel Pease, Nathan Palmer, 
Renjamin Perry, Renjamin Potts, John Potts, Mary Philips, John 
Pooder, David Richards, William Ross, Eleph Ross, John Rosecrants, 
Jacob Rosecrants, the widow Rosecrants, Thomas Read, William Rus- 
sel, John P. Schott, William Slocum, Joseph Slocum, Renjamin Sloeum, 
Ebenezer Slocum, Jonathan Slocum, Eunice Sprague, Polly Stevens, 
Obadiah Smith, Paul Stark, Henry Stark, William Shoemaker, Joshua 
Squire, Henry Tilbury, Stephen Tuttle, Renjamin Truesdale, Daniel 
Truesdale, Elias Vandermark^ Nathan Waller, Phineas Waller, Eliad 
Waller, Andrew Wickeizer, Conrad Wickeizer, Joseph Wright, Thomas 
Wright, Philip Weekes, Thomas Weekes, Jonathan Wildman, Henry 
Wilson, James Westbrook, Richard Westbrook, Justice Woolcott, Cran- 
dal Wilcox, Isaac Wilcox, William Wright, Rosswell Wells. 

V. 

Postmasters at Wilkesbarre, and when appointed : — 
Lord Rutler, appointed 1794. 

John Hollenback, " 1802. 



APPENDIX. 




Ezekiel Hyde, 


appointed 1805, 


Jon. Hancock, 


iC 


1805. 


Jacob Cist, 


a 


1808. 


A. Beaumont, 


a 


1826, 


Wm. Ross, 


n 


1832, 


Daniel Collings, 


(( 


1835. 


A. 0. Gaboon, 


(( 


1841. 


J. P. Le Clere, 


t( 


1843. 


E. B. Collings, 


i( 


1845. 


Steuben Butler, 


li 


1849. 


Jobn Reicbard, 


it 


1853. 


Jacob Sorber, 


a 


1854. 


E. B. Collings, 


a 


1858. 


S. M. Barton, 


a 


1861. 


E. H. Chase, 


u 


1865. 



653 



The following are the names of the first postmasters when the offices 
were established : — 

Abington, John Miller, 

Asylum, Elias Vaughn, 

Athens, David Payne, 

Beach Grove, Nathan Beach, 

Berwick, William Bryan, 
Bridgewater (now Montrose), Isaac Post, 

Conyngham, Archd. Murray, 

Keeler's Ferry, Asa Keeler, 

Kingston, Henry Buckingham, 

Nescopeck, John Briggs, Jr., 

Pittston, Eleazar Carey, 

Plymouth, . George Lane, 

Providence, Benjamin Slocum, 

Sheshequin, Avery Gore, 

Silver Lake, Robert H. Rose, 

Tunkhannock, Charles Otis, 

Wyalusing, John HoUenback, 

Wyalusing, John HoUenback, 
Willingboro' (Great Bend), Dr. Eleazar Parker, 



appointed 


[ 1811. 


(' 


1812. 


a 


1808. 


i( 


1813. 


u 


1800. 


li 


1808. 


a 


1808. 


li 


1812. 


11 


1809. 


li 


1811. 


li 


1811. 


11 


1813. 


a 


1811. 


a 


1801. 


li 


1810. 


ii 


1812. 


11 


1803. 


u 


1803. 


u 


1808. 



554 



APPENDIX. 



w. 

Exhibit of the number of tons of Anthracite Coal mined in the several 
coal-fields of Luzerne county. The amount mined in Wyoming Valley 
from 1808 to 1841, is estimated at 400,000 tons, and is credited in the 
total. From the amount mined and transported by the Pennsylvania 
Coal Company, and credited to Wyoming Valley, 1,092,545 tons were 
mined at Dunmore, and properly belongs to Lackawanna Valley. Of the 
amount transported by the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Railroad, and 
credited to Wyoming Valley, 449,000 tons were mined in Lackawanna 
Valley, and are credited under the head of the Delaware, Lackawanna, 
and Western Railroad ; but as the Scranton Ironworks have consumed 
an equal amount, not included in this table, no deduction is necessary: — 



1829 
1830 
1831 
1832 
1833 
1834 
1835 
1836 
1837 
1838 
1839 
1840 
1841 
1842 
1843 
1844 
1845 
1846 
1847 
1848 
1849 
1850 
1851 
1852 
1853 
1854 
1855 
1856 
1857 
1858 
1859 



Lackawanna Val- 
ley. 



Delaware 

and 

Hudson 

Canal Co . 



Delaware, 
Lacka- 
wanna & 
"Western 
Railroad. 



7.000 
43,000 
54.000 
84,600 
111,777 
43.700 
98,845 
104,500 
115,387 
76,321 
122,300 
148.470 
192,270 
205.253 
227,605 
251,005 
266,072 
381.000 
395.343 
437,500 
454,^40 
441,403 
479,078 
497,105 
494,327 
440,944 
565,460 
499,650 
480,677 
347,873 
599,999 



6,000 
67,489 
97,358 
133.964 
188,865 
296,232 
490,023 
683,411! 
829,434 



Wyoming Valley, 



Eastern Middle 
Coal Field.* 



North 
Brancli 
Canal, 
South. 



41,210 
47,346 
57.740 
114.906 
178,401 
166,923 
285,462 
237,271 
259,080 
243.250 
334,017 
319,341 
419,413 
492,689 
464,039 
510,631 
405,877 
293,310 
387,737 
400,000 



North 
Branch 
Canal, 
North, 



1.150 

2,274 
38,947 
51,914 



Lehigh Pennsyl- 
and Sus- vania 
quehanna Coal Co. 
Railroad. 



5,978 
27,488 
11,112 
20,316 
24,220 
26.200 
43.1 61 ! 
27,862, 
45,932 
51,415 
45,054 
44,005 
78,150 
71,398 



111,014 
316,017 
426,164 
512.659 
496,648 
504,803 
612,500 
543,873 
630,056 
688,855 



Lacka- 
wanna & I Lehigh 
Blooms- j Coal and 
burg Naviga- 
Eailroad.' tion. 



16. 

4i; 

79: 
38; 
62; 

74; 

90, 

96: 

162, 

199. 

247: 
280: 

201: 

334. 

374: 

336. 

358. 

427; 

387. 

224. 
210,042 302: 
358,471 321, 



Lehigh 
Valley 
Bailroad. 



8,466 
152,912 
336,973 
336,218 
420,183 



7,000 

43.000 

54,000 

84,600 

111,777 

43,700 

98,845 

104,500 

115,387 

92,542 

163,65p 

227,929 

272,213 

315,641 

359,582 

466,441 

540,496 

715.927 

907^910 

933,770 

1,014,534 

1,021,851 

1,495.972 

1,727,736 

1,888,340 

1,968,754 

2,210,299 

2,505,734 

2.528,436 

2,920.598 

3,729,722 



8,666,704 2,792,776 6,658,443 94,285J 522,091 4,842,589 568,513 4,660,233 1,254,752, 29,060,386 



* Hazel, Sugarloaf, Foster, and Black Creek townships. 



APPENDIX. 



555 



Exhibit of the number of tons of Anthracite Coal mined in Luzerne 
County from 1860 to 1865 inclusive. 





^^V^r"^ Wyoming Valley. 


Eastern Middle 
Coal Field. 


Years. 


Delaware 

and 
Hudson 
Canal Co. 


Delaware, 
Lacka- 
wanna, 
and Wes- 
tern Rail- 
road. 


North 
Branch 
Canal, 
South. 


North 
Branch 

Canal, 
North. 


Lehigh 

and 
Susque- 
hanna 
Kail- 
road. 


Penn- 
sylvania 
Coal Co. 


Lacka- 
wanna & 
Blooms- 
Ijurg 
Rail- 
road. 


Lehigh 
Coal and 
Naviga- 
tion. 


Lehigh 
Valley 
Rail- 
road. 


1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 


499,568 
726,644 
644,100 
828,150 
852,136 
759,570 


1,080,228 
1,104,319 
1,098,335 
1,240,143 
1,303,113 
1,006,887 


382,341 
262,907 
494,890 
585,249 
536,092 
329,500 


52,965 
53,244 
64,357 
77,473 
94,053 
31,157 


100,277 

111,074 

26,723 


689,175 
637,779 
610,689 
665,135 
809,993 
604,321 


519,777 
648,399 
767,661 
964,753 
929,374 
673,744 


248,823 
254,397 
77,733 
144,602 
158,208 
180,671 


419,676 
407,711 
385,391 
761,177 
679,565 
622,087 


1864 
1865 


94,979 
251,966 




4,310,168 


6,828,025 


2,590,985 


373,549 


585,019 


4,017,092 


4,503,708 


1,064,434 


3,275,607 



Of the amount carried on the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Rail- 
road in these six years, 2,355,801 tons were mined in the Lackawanna 
region, and are included in the amount transported on the Delaware, 
Lackawanna, and Western Railroad. Of the amount mined by the 
Pennsylvania Coal Company, 504,784 tons were taken out at Dun- 
more, and should also be credited to the Lackawanna region. Thus 
in these six years there were mined in the Lackawanna Valley, 
11,642,977 tons; in the Wyoming Valley, 9,209,768 tons; and in the 
Eastern Middle Field, 4,340,041 tons: total in Luzerne County, from 
1860 to 1865 inclusive, 25,192,786 tons. 

The names of the Coal Companies and of the individual operators 
in Luzerne County in the year 1865 are as follows: 



Delaware and Hudson Canal 

Co., 
S. S. Clark, 
James Nichol, 
John Oakley, 
Elias Palmer, 
J. P. Williams & Sons, 
0. W. Spangenburg, 
Boston and Lackawanna Coal 

Co., 
D. R. Moore, 



Delaware, Lackawanna, and 
Western Railroad Co., 

Lackawanna Iron and Coal 
Co., 

Pennsylvania Coal Co., 

Roaring Brook Coal Co., sue. 
of Hunt, Davis & Co., 

Repp & Bowen, 

E. J. & J. Williams, 

Christian Scherer, 

Joseph Church, 



556 



APPENDIX, 



Lackawanna "Valley Coal Co., 

Hughes & Able, 

F. B. Marsh, 

Giles Leach, 

William Henry, 

Michael Rock, 

Williams & McFarlane, 

L. Van Storch, 

J. J. Hetherby & Co., 

Elk Hill Coal Co., 

Martin Cripper, 

Mount Pleasant Coal Co., 

S. T. Scranton & Co., 

A. S. Washburn, 

Susquehanna and Wyoming 

"Valley Railroad and Coal 

Co., 
Lackawanna and Susquehanna 

Coal and Iron Co., 
Butler Coal Co., 
Grove Brothers, 
David Morgan, 
Mercur & Co., 
Mercur & Frisbee, 
Spearing, Foley & Curtis, late 

Hancock & Foley, 
Abram Price, 
Maryland Coal Co., 
James Freeland, 
De Witt & Salisbury, 
C. S. Maltby, 
J. D. & H. M. Hoyt, 
Jas. P. Atherton, 
Baltimore Coal Co., 



Wyoming Coal and Trans- 
portation Co., 

Audenreid Coal and Im- 
provement Co., 

Franklin Coal Co., 

Lewis Landmesser, 

Lehigh and Susquehanna Coal 
Co., 

Wilkesbarre Coal and Iron 
Co., 

Parrish & Thomas, 

H. B. Hillman, 

Warrior Run Co., 

J. B. Stark, 

Ira Davenport, 

Union Coal Co., 

Harvey Brothers, 

Washington Coal Co., 

J. Landon & Co., 

H. S. Mercur & Co., succes- 
sors of Landon & Co., 

New England Coal Co., 

Shawnee Coal Co., 

Ebervale Coal Co., 

Harleigh Coal Co., 

Wm. S. Halsey & Co., 

G. B. Markle & Co., 

Packer, Linderman & Co., 

Spring Mountain Coal Co., 

Stout Coal Co., 

Buck Mountain Coal Co., 

A. Pardee & Co., 

Sharp, Weiss & Co. 



Railroads. 

The Nanticoke Railroad Company was chartered in 1860, and the 
work commenced the same year. Dr. Ingham, Engineer. It will ex- 



APPENDIX. 557 



tend on the east side of the Susquehanna through the Wyoming Coal 
Field, and probably as far as Scranton. 

The Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad Company have constructed 
a back or empty track, which leaves the old road on the top of the 
mountain at the head of the Upper Plane, and makes a circuit of 12^ 
miles in length, in the shape of an ox-bow, to the foot of the mountain. 
The greatest grade is 96 feet to the mile. 

In 1865 and 1866 the Lehigh Yalley Railroad Company extended 
their road into the Wyoming coal field, and purpose its further exten- 
sion up the North Branch. 

The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company have constructed a rail- 
road from White Haven to Maueh Chunk in place of the Slackwater 
Navigation, which was destroyed in the summer of 1862. 

The Plymouth and Wilkesbarre Bridge and Railroad Company are 
constructing a road, one mile in length, connecting the Lehigh and 
Susquehanna road with the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg road. It 
is to cross the Susquehanna on a bridge 8t0 feet in length, a short 
distance above Plymouth. 

Huntington Salt and Iron Manufacturing, and Petroleum 

Companies. 

In the year 1825 the Huntington Salt and Iron Manufacturing 
Company was organized with a capital of $10,000, divided into 400 
shares of $25 each. The salt boring was commenced on Pine Creek, 
two miles east of Cambria, near a large natural deer lick. The power 
used was a small water-wheel, with arms attached to the end of the 
shaft. The boring rods were white-ash poles, fastened together by 
means of a burr and screw strapped on the ends. The auger was 
attached to a bar of iron weighing about 200 pounds, and the progress 
made was from 2 inches to 2 feet a day. A man stood at the rod 
turning continually, and the hole, about 3 inches in diameter, was sunk 
to the depth of 480 feet, when the rod broke far down in the earth, 
and the enterprise was abandoned. 

In the year 1865 the Green Creek Petroleum Company was organ- 
ized for continuing the boring in the old hole with the view of obtaining 
coal oil, — the indications given in 1826 in the salt boring seeming to 
warrant the present effort. The following is the affidavit of Peter 
Boston, who had the contract of boring in 1826 for the Huntington 
Salt and Iron Manufacturing Company, 
36 



558 APPENDIX. 



Luzerne County, ss. 

On this 20th day of June, 1865, before me, the subscriber, a Jus- 
tice of the Peace, personally appeared Peter Boston, who being duly 
sworn, says : That he is a resident of Fairmount, Luzerne County, 
Pennsylvania; that he is 69 years of age; that he had the job of 
boring the "Salt Well," near Cambria, said county, commencing 
about the year a.d. 1826; that he bored said well and gave his per- 
sonal attention to it ; that at the depth of about 200 or 300 feet, 
while boring after night, there commenced coming out of the well a 
strong smell something like sulphur only a great deal stronger, and 
on examination in the morning the water that continually flowed out 
of the well was of a blue-black color, and that the smell came from 
this water; that for at least 20 feet on the surface of the water in the 
creek below, this water made quite a scum ; that he now is of the pos- 
itive opinion that that dark water of offensive smell was coal oil, and 
he has so expressed his opinion ever since he became acquainted with 
coal oil ; that he has no interest in the matter, but if a company is 
raised he is willing to take a share in it, 

Peter Boston. 
Sworn and subscribed before me this 

20th day of June, 1865. 

D. L. Chapin, J. P. 

Mr. Wm. A. Myers, Civil Engineer and Mining Superintendent of 
the Glendale Oil Company, Titusville, Pa., in addressing the Presi- 
dent and Directors of the Green Creek Petroleum Company, says : 
'* Having spent four days in a careful examination of the lands owned 
and leased by your company, I would say the result has impressed me 
favorably. ***** ^i^ I feel satisfied there is sufficient to 
warrant efforts at thorough development." 

Coal oil in small quantities has already been obtained on Kitchen's 
Creek, near the North Mountain. Other lands have been purchased 
by Eastern men, and one or two companies have been formed to bore 
for oil. They have commenced sinking wells, and have obtained some 
indications of oil. 



APPENDIX. 



559 



Population of Luzerne County in 1860. 



Names of Boroughs 




Names of Boroughs 




and Townships. 


Population. 


and Townships. 


Population. 


Abington, 


233t 


Lehman, 


694 


Bear Creek, 


2t9 


Madison, 


1190 


Benton, 


list 


Nescopeck, 


875 


Black Creek, 


499 


New Columbus, 


241 


Blakely, 


3T5T 


Newport, 


622 


Buck, 


T28 


Newton, 


916 


Butler, 


1081 


Pittston, 


2753 


Carbondale Township, 


466 


Pittston Borough, 


3693 


Carbondale City, 


5118 


Plains, 


844 


Covington, 


850 


Plymouth, 


2400 


Dallas, 


998 


Providence Township, 


4091 


Denison, 


626 


Providence Borough, 


1410 


Dorrance, 


553 


Ransom, 


509 


Exeter, 


801 


Ross, 


891 


Fairmount, 


1194 


Salem, 


1400 


Fell, 


463 


Scott, 


1333 


Foster, 


1204 


Scranton, 


9273 


Franklin, 


664 


Slocum, 


210 


Greenfield, 


936 


Spring Brook, 


268 


Hanover, 


1624 


Sugarloaf, 


1343 


Hazle, 


3832 


Union, 


1645 


Hazleton, 


1V08 


Waverly, 


356 


Hollenback, 


9n 


West Pittston, 


590 


Huntington, 


1558 


White Haven, 


946 


Hyde Park, 


3319 


Wilkesbarre Township, 2815 


Jackson, 


689 


Wilkesbarre Borough, 


4259 


Jefferson, 


T06 


Wright, 


278 


Jenkins, 

Kingston Township, 


15t4 
2044 






Total, 


90,390 


Kingston Borough, 


641 


In 1850, 


56,072 


Lackawanna, 
Lake, 


1663 

488 






Increase, 


34,318 



560 APPENDIX. 



Flood op 1861 in the Susquehanna. 

On the 12tli and 13th of February, 1861, a tremendous flood oc- 
curred in the Susquehanna, said to be higher than any known before 
in fifty years. The river, covered with ice nearly all winter, broke up 
under a warm rain. The ice dammed up in the channel forced the 
water over the Kingston flats and all the lowlands along the river. 
The ice cast out of the road on these flats lay piled up on either hand 
until late in the spring. The cellars of the dwellings on River Street 
in Wilkesbarre were filled with water. The Wilkesbarre Gas Works 
were damaged, and there was one night of darkness in the town. 



Flood in the Lehigh in 1862. 

On the 3d and 4th of June, 1862, the Slackwater Navigation of 
the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company from White Haven to 
Mauch Chunk was utterly destroyed by a great flood. More than one 
hundred lives were lost, and whole families were drowned. There 
were 40 million feet of logs swept away. It was estimated at the 
time that at White Haven alone the loss amounted to $320,000. At 
Mauch Chunk the water was 15 feet deep in the principal street, and 
all the lower part of the town was washed away. 



Great Flood in the Susquehanna in 1865. 

On St. Patrick's day, the ITth of March, 1865, occurred the 
greatest flood ever known in the Susquehanna. The waters in some 
places covered the Yalley from mountain to mountain. Logs, trees, 
timber, lumber, some loose, some in rafts of two to twenty thousand 
feet, fences, fragments of buildings, canal boats, skiffs, haystacks, 
whole barns, sheds, and even large, well-finished dwelling-houses, with 
chimneys all in order, came rushing down the roaring torrent at the 
rate of 8 miles an hour. For three days the dark, muddy waters over- 
flowed the banks, which were covered with wrecks of every descrip- 



APPENDIX. 561 



tion. At Skinner's Eddy, in Wyoming County, 19 buildings, mostly 
dwellings, were swept away. Two large stacks of lumber, containing 
between 40 and 50 thousand feet, were carried oflP, and a thousand 
bushels of corn were set afloat. The water in Wilkesbarre extended 
up Market Street to the street crossing at Faser's store. People 
went about in boats in several of the principal streets. 

This tremendous freshet has been styled St, Patrick's Flood. The 
following has been taken from the Records of the Court of Quarter 
Sessions of Luzerne County. 

In Re. 

St. Patrick's Flood in Susquehanna River, ITth and 18th March, 
A.D. 1865. 

Now 29th of August, a.d. 1865, the following record is submitted 
to the court for preservation among its records, to wit : 

WiLKESBAREE, 26th August, 1865. 

Hon. John N. Conyngham, President Judge of Luzerne County. 
From levels taken from explorations for rail route 

from the Lehigh Valley to this Valley by C. F. Mer- 

cur, Esq., I find the elevations above tide water of the 

door-sills of the Court-House 543-102 feet. 

Low water in the Susquehanna River 512-9 " 

High water in the Susquehanna River 18th March, 1865. 53t-6 " 
Door-sill of the Court-House above the high water of 

18th March, 1865 5-5 " 

Rise of water in the flood of ITth and 18th of March, 

1865, at Wilkesbarre 24-T " 

And the general opinion is that the flood of 1865 was 

four feet higher than the pumpkin flood of October, 

A.D. 1T86. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Martin Coryell, 

Certified from the Records this sixth day of February, a.d. 1866. 
[Seal.] E, B. Collings, Glerk. 



562 APPENDIX. 



Z. 

The Great Rebellion. 

Thus stood the military organization of Luzerne in the spring of 
1861, when the eleven Southern States attempted to dismember the 
Union and establish a Southern Confederacy. This great rebellion 
against the mild and beneficial sway of the General Government, 
prompted as it was by bad and ambitious men, roused the patriotism 
and military spirit of the entire North, and hundreds of thousands of 
men sprang to arms to preserve the unity and life of the nation. This 
effort of the Free States for Union was met by a corresponding gi- 
gantic attempt for its destruction on the part of the Slave States. 
No nook or corner of the Great United States escaped the contagion 
of the military ardor. The whole country became a vast military en- 
campment in which millions of men prepared themselves for the shock 
of the battle-field. In the first swell of patriotic feeling which gushed 
from the loyal North party spirit was hushed into silence, and almost 
every individual, of all ranks, ages, and sexes, expressed indignation 
when it was announced that the traitors at Charleston had fired on a 
national fortress, and compelled its small band of defenders to lower 
the Stars and Stripes to the flag of rebellion. At the call of Presi- 
dent Lincoln for 15,000 men, followed by that for half a million, to 
suppress insurrection, companies of troops were organized in all parts 
of Luzerne, and almost on an hour's notice were on their road to the 
theatre of war. April 18th, 1861, the first company of troops left 
Wilkesbarre. Scranton, Providence, Carbondale, and other localities 
were equally prompt in furnishing men to uphold the national honor. 
After an unparalleled war of four years, during which Luzerne fur- 
nished about 5500 soldiers, the rebellion was crushed, and the author- 
ity of the national government was re-established. The author pro- 
poses, at a future day, to publish a history of the part taken by Luzerne 
in this great civil conflict. 



564 NOTES. 

was established by J. C. Stokes & Co., and the first number issued in 
January, 1866. 

10 Page 426. Mr. Miner died October 26th, 1865, aged 86 years. Mr. Dyer 
died September 21st, 1861, aged 90 years. 

11 Page 449. This road was extended to Northumberland, a distance of 
29 miles, in 1860, and connects with the Philadelphia and Erie. 

12 Page 449. For an account of the Nanticoke and other railroads con- 
structed and in course of construction, since the- publication of the first 
edition of this work, see Appendix "W. 

13 Page 486. In 1860, the deaths amounted to 878. Families, 15,065. 
Population, 90,390. 

1* Page 487. In the winter 1863-4, spotted or black fever prevailed in the 
northern part of the county, and the number of deaths in Carbondale, where 
the disease was most fatal and sweeping, exceeded 400. 

1^ Page 502. A pike, weighing 23^ pounds, was caught in Marcey's Pond, 
Wyoming County, in 1866, and was purchased by Hon. John Brisbin, of 
Scranton. 



t 



NOTES. 



1 Page 19. Steuben Jenkins, Esq., of Wyoming, and Dr. Hollister, of 
Providence, have made large and valuable private collections of Indian 
relics, very interesting to those curious in aboriginal history. 

* Page 154. Through the laudable efforts of Payne Pettebone, Esq., and 
Gen. W. S. Ross, a deed to the Wyoming Monumental Association has been 
secured, money subscribed, and the grounds enclosed by a handsome fence, 
and decorated with trees and shrubbery. 

3 Page 286. This Christian gentleman died April 18th, 1861, aged 61 
years. 

* Page 299. In 1865, the Church North numbered 929,259. No statistics 
from the Church South during or since the late war. 

5 Page 307. Died 6th March, 1862, and his funeral was attended by up- 
wards of four thousand persons. 

6 Page 308. These churches are now under the charge of Rev. Mr. 
Oefinger. 

' Page 355. Since the foregoing was written, a mill has been erected in 
Pittston. 

8 Page 398. In 1863, E. S. M. Hill, Esq., purchased the press and changed 
the name to the Lackawanna Register, and again to the Scranton Register, 
In 1860, Mr. Hill established in Scranton the Legal Observer, which is now 
discontinued. 

The Scranton Wochenblatt was established in 1865, by E. A. Ludwig, who 
sold to Frederick Wagner, the present editor. 
The Miner's Journal was established in 1866, by Adams & Brock. 

9 Page 399. In 1863, Mr. T. J. Alleger and Theodore Smith became edi- 
tors and proprietors. In 1864, Mr. Smith retired. The Hazleton Sentinel 

(563) 



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